Snarky Stark
by geminisonic
Summary: Tony Stark has not spoken to his older brother since he made the biggest mistake of his life. Now Tony is ready to patch things up, only, his brother and his wife were killed in a car accident. Tony now finds he is the official guardian of his 7-year-old niece Sadie, who is more than what she seems. Rated for language, some bad parenting, and sex. refs. last chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, I'm normally in the Grimm section but decided to go ahead and write some fanfic for Iron Man! **

**Note: This is based on the movies. I have done some research with the comics, but I love RDJ way too much and his characterization of Tony Stark is incredible so it's nice to work with his snarky character a little. Therefore, I own none of the Marvel characters, I just own his new niece: Sadie. **

**I work part time at a daycare so I use a lot of their mannerisms for her and put in a little Stark-iness. **

**Hope you enjoy, it's just for a little cute reading. Have fun and feel free to leave R and R's. They make my day. Kisses!**

…..

Tony felt so different. Being on the plane back to America was one of the greatest feelings yet also, one of the most dreadful ones as well. Being held captive for three months can really make a person think. While it sucked being stuck in a cave, he knew the real challenge would be what he had to face coming back to America. The first being to shut down his company's weapon's manufacture. The second would be much harder.

He sighed, thinking about what he would say. No matter how much he thought about it, no words could effectively bring about a suitable apology.

He wondered how Tim was. He hadn't seen him in nearly seven years. Course, he couldn't blame him. He hadn't exactly been a responsible or dependable brother. Hell he even told Yinsen that he didn't have a family. Thinking about Yinsen brought back a feeling Tony had never really felt before. He only wished he could have thanked the good man properly. He felt the best way was to remember his dying words. "_Don't waste your life." _

He knew he needed to patch things up with his brother and he would do it ASAP.

But first, he had some business to take care of, starting with his sham of a company.

…

"Well, that went well." Tony muttered walking past Pepper towards the car.

"Tony!" Pepper followed closely behind him, "Wait, maybe you can go back and-"

"Nope, done deal." He said, climbing in the car. At least he could mark that off his to-do list. Press handled, company shutting down.

Pepper sighed, she found Obi standing at the doorway; he looked fit to be tied. All she could do was shrug apologetically and climb in next to Tony.

"At least now you'll go to a hospital, right?" she asked.

"Nope, I'm booking my jet to New Haven."

"New Haven? In Connecticut?" Pepper exclaimed.

Tony nodded.

"Why on earth would you go there?" Pepper asked, exasperated. He'd only been back for an hour and already her stress levels were shooting skyward.

"Yale."

"Tony, seriously, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm gonna pay Tim a visit." He said.

Pepper blanched, "Tony…wait…you can't go." She said, looking sad.

"Why not?" he asked her, "Is there some pressing matter that needs my attention here? Perhaps another angry press?"

She gave Happy a look who looked sadly back through the rearview mirror.

"Seriously, am I the only one who's excited for a trip to Yale?" Tony asked.

"Tony…I was going to wait to tell you…" she said trying to find words. "Tim and his wife Anna died a couple of weeks ago." She finally said.

It was Tony's turn to blanch. Happy started driving.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

"It was a car accident. They were killed instantly." She said sadly, "Tony, I'm so sorry." She was tempted to hold his hand, but didn't feel he needed that at the moment. He sat back, still in shock. He took a breath then as quick as rain got back to his usual business-like self, "When's the funeral, we should attend."

"It was last week." She said.

"Great, no one wanted to wait for me. Even in death I'm still not invited to his shindigs." He grumbled. Pepper knew this was Tony's way of grieving, but she needed to tell him before he just rushed off to do the next harebrained thing.

"There's something else." She said.

"Great. Someone else I should know about who had a funeral maybe last year?" he asked nastily.

"Don't get snarky, Tony."

He rolled his eyes.

"Your niece is on her way here."

"I have a niece?" he looked stunned, "Since when?"

Pepper felt she could gladly return the attitude, "Well…she's only seven, so…"

"Ha-ha." Tony said, slumping back in his seat, "So why is she coming here?" he asked.

"You're her only guardian. Her mom didn't have a family, or at least that's what I was told. You were in the will."

"Wow, my brother did have a heart. Or maybe not." Tony grumbled.

Pepper sighed, "Tony she's been through a lot. She was in a foster home for a while because…they didn't know if you…"

Tony finally looked her in the eye, "Is she hurt?"

"No, but Tony, she just lost her parents."

He nodded, "Ok, so we have an orphan on her way here and I'm practically public enemy number one. Can my day get any worse?"

Pepper looked up, "I sold one of your cars."

Tony was about to shout until he saw her grin.

"Gotcha." That will teach him to get snarky with her.

…

Tony had never been happier to be home. He walked in only to find a nauseating display of flowers covering his living room. He rolled his eyes. Yeah nothing says "sorry you were kidnapped and tortured, glad you're home" like flowers. He walked around and was so relieved to hear his favorite voice come on.

"Welcome back, sir. It is wonderful to have you home."

"Hey Jarvis. Missed you too." He said.

"I have received many files regarding Miss Stark. Shall I store them in our home network?"

"Sounds good." Tony shrugged. Jeez, even his freaking house was aware of his niece coming by.

He didn't even know where to put her. His guest rooms were more for…adult…guests.

He walked around and finally found a decently sized room and nearly did a double take. The room had been repainted and redecorated.

"Jarvis, who broke into my house?" he practically roared.

"I have no record of a break in, sir."

"Then why is my guest room the color of a peach?"

"Miss Potts organized a redecorating for your niece's arrival."

"How did she even know about my niece coming here before today?"

"She's known for some time and wanted to be prepared. She was sure you'd be found sir. And you were, if I'm not mistaken."

"Ha-ha." Tony mumbled.

He looked around the guest room and had to admit Pepper had taste. The walls were a beautiful peach color and looked gorgeous as the sunset through the wall-sized window came through. The furniture was kid-sized and white and there was plenty of room for toys and clothes. Even the connecting bathroom had been redone for a kid with a butterfly theme.

He shook his head, smiling. And people wondered why he hired Pepper.

He felt bored waiting around and he wanted to go to his work-room, but he knew he needed to at least meet his niece before he put his new plan into action.

Just because his brother died before he could apologize didn't mean he couldn't make it up to his kid.

He sat on the couch and turned on some music. ACDC filled the room and gave him a sense of calm.

"Sir, Miss Potts has arrived with the Children Services."

"Show time." Tony grumbled, getting up. He looked at the clock and realized it was 8pm. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to sleep.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice came in through the front.

Tony watched as Pepper came in with a nicely dressed woman carrying a briefcase and holding the hand of his seven-year-old niece.

She looked exhausted. Tony suddenly couldn't believe how much she looked like a Stark. Her hair was the same color as him and his brother's. Dark brown and wavy that fell messily to her shoulders. She was a tiny thing and she looked very skinny. Almost too skinny. Tony figured it was just from all the chaos from the last few weeks.

She stared at the floor.

"Sadie," the lady holding her had said, softly, "This is Mr. Tony Stark, your father's brother."

Tony nearly rolled his eyes. She spoke to the poor kid like she was two.

The girl finally looked at Tony and he did a double take. She had the biggest most gorgeous brown eyes he had ever seen. Upon closer inspection, however, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was very pale.

"Mr. Stark?" the lady said, looking up. Tony tore his eyes away from his overly cute niece for a minute to shake her hand, "I'm Ms. Heller. I work for Children Services. It's good to meet you."

"Thanks. And thanks for bringing her. We probably have it all under control." He assured her. He desperately wanted the annoying woman to leave. She even spoke to him like he was two.

"I'll be keeping in touch, making periodical visits throughout. Just to make sure she's in a…stable home." She said, eyeing him warily.

Tony suddenly felt like a pedophile and he didn't even do anything.

"Awesome. Well, get some rest and enjoy the Hilton." He smiled as Pepper kindly ushered the woman out.

"Here's my number." She said handing him a card. He merely stared at him.

"He doesn't like to be handed things, but I'll take it." Pepper said, giving Tony an exasperated look, "And I'll be glad to exchange numbers."

Tony was glad they carried their conversation elsewhere. He finally looked back at his niece, who eyed him with wary curiosity. She cocked her head to the side slightly and Tony found he was mimicking her.

They were silent for a while longer. She was gazing around his house, still rooted to the spot. He suddenly noticed she was carrying a stuffed bear.

"Nice bear. What's his name?" he asked.

She merely stared back.

"It's Sadie, right?" he asked, hoping to get some headway with the kid.

She nodded, still looking around.

Tony was alarmed when she coughed suddenly. Jeez was the silence that awkward?

He noticed her coughing sounded very painful and almost wheezy.

"You okay? You need some water?" he asked.

She shook her head and resumed looking around.

He raised his eyebrows and followed her lead, looking around.

"Do you have any bags?" he asked.

She looked at him quickly then turned around, looking towards the hall.

"I'll take that as a…"

"Uh-huh." She said so quietly Tony was sure it was his imagination.

He stepped closer to her and tried a different approach. Kids weren't exactly his thing, but he didn't want child abuser to go up there with Merchant of Death on his list of titles.

He held out his hand, "You wanna see your new room?" he asked, a little too excitedly. He tried smiling but the look of confusion and annoyance on her face proved that it wasn't such a great idea after all.

She continued to stare at him with those soulful brown eyes. Tony had a feeling those eyes would be the death of everyone around her.

"Okay, follow me." He said, turning around. He wasn't sure if she had followed him or not but was relieved when he turned around and she was indeed following him to her new room. Tony was glad it was close to the kitchen. He didn't have to worry about her getting up at night trying to find food or something and bothering him in the process.

"So…this is your room, bathroom is in there, help yourself to the food in the kitchen, you can tell Jarvis to darken the room and tint the windows and…"

"And," Pepper said coming in behind them, "I also put in a night light that's very cool, so you can tell Jarvis if you want that. I also made sure that Tony can hear you in the system if you need help." She went towards the night stand and showed Sadie the top of it. She tapped the stand and sure enough some buttons came up from the glassy stand. She tapped a picture of Tony and he knew it went automatically to wherever he was in the house.

"I also have your new code for the house, so you can get into Tony's workroom if you need anything. It will also be your code for the whole house."

"What is her code?" Tony asked.

"BEAR" Pepper said.

"Gotcha. Should be simple. You can spell right?" he asked Sadie.

She glared at him, confirming his belief from before that her eyes could indeed kill.

"I also have my contact information in the system, so you can call me anytime, anywhere." Pepper told her.

Happy suddenly came in carrying some luggage.

"Right there Happy." Pepper smiled.

Happy waved, smiling to Sadie who waved back shyly.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"The moving company will bring the rest of her things tomorrow afternoon." Pepper said, "So we'll need some help with that."

"Sure thing. Night everyone." He called, leaving.

"Any questions, Sadie? I know you're probably tired." Pepper asked.

Sadie stood there for a minute, and then just shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head.

"Right, well, holler if you need anything." Tony said, leaving.

"Night, Sadie." Pepper said, closing her door.

"Way to lock her in Pep." Tony grumbled walking towards his workroom.

"Tony, seriously. Was I the only one who saw her ready to cry?" Pepper said angrily.

Tony shrugged. Reiterating the fact that kids were just not his thing.

….

It was 2 am and Tony was busy modifying his new chest piece when he heard a crash.

"Sir, Miss Stark is in trouble." Jarvis said.

Tony dropped what he was doing and ran upstairs. He found Sadie in the kitchen huddled in a corner, looking terrified. He looked over and found a broken glass on the floor.

"What's wrong? You hurt?" he asked looking around, "Jarvis, check the security!" he ordered.

"No one has entered the perimeter, sir." Jarvis said.

Sadie squeaked, looking around frantically.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

Sadie stared at him with a horrified look on her face. She was panting heavily and she finally swallowed and choked out, "Y-you have a g-ghost."

At first, Tony wasn't sure he heard her right. And when he realized he had, he couldn't help it, he cracked up.

It didn't help that she looked so devastated and that didn't help his laughter die down at all.

When he finished getting over the initial hilarity of her statement, he finally asked her, trying hard not to chuckle, "What makes you think I have a g…ghost?" he snorted

"That voice…" she whispered, practically sobbing, "I was getting water and it said my name and asked if I needed help and then it talked to you. But there's nobody here!" she cried.

He tried to look serious, but for the life of him couldn't. He just laughed outright in her face again. He wiped his eyes, "Oh, kid…no…that's not…" he kept laughing between words. He finally calmed down when he saw she really was crying and looking very upset. He cleared his throat to regain some composure, "That's Jarvis. He runs the house. He's a program I developed to help me out when I need him."

"I thought Jarvis was a person" she said in a squeaky voice.

"Naw, just a…disembodied voice really." He shrugged

She calmed down a little and visibly relaxed.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"Uh-huh." She said, wiping her eyes, "No ghost?" she asked seriously

"No ghosts." He promised.

She nodded and Tony decided to clean the glass up.

As he picked up the glass and swept around the spot he saw her find a seat at his gigantic glass kitchen table.

"Couldn't sleep?" he finally asked.

She shook her head.

"Me neither."

She sighed loudly and Tony shook his head grinning. He remembered when he and Tim used to make those loud obnoxious sighs whenever they pissed each other off, whether it was Tony bragging about his latest invention or Tim boasting about his glorious history essay.

He finally sat down opposite her at the table, tapping his fingers on the table.

He studied her and she seemed to be doing the same.

She had her head in her arms on the table and he noticed how heavily she breathed. Her whole body moved with each inhale and exhale. It seemed odd, but he decided not to think about it too hard. Kids were kids.

"So what do you wanna do?" he asked.

She shrugged.

Tony thought about it. He really needed to get his chest piece done if he wanted to live for another few years and start his newest project. But it didn't look like she would be going to bed any time soon.

"Tell you what; you can come watch TV down in the work room. Just don't bother me while I'm working, okay?"

She nodded.

He walked gracefully down the stairs and looked behind him. She was climbing down the stairs rather slowly, taking her time. He waited, wondering if she was just a slow kid or if there was something actually wrong with her.

"Did you step in any glass?" he asked.

She looked up and shook her head, puzzled.

Tony didn't know what else to think, so he just simply waited.

She finally reached the bottom, taking a deep breath, and then came up behind him. As he was pushing in his code, he looked down and noticed something. Attached to the waistband of her capris was a silver box. He could see numbers on the tiny screen. It only caught his eye because she was wearing a bright pink night shirt with matching capris and the device was such a contrast in color.

"Is that a cassette player?" he asked. Not sure what else it could be.

She looked down then looked back up giving him a puzzled look.

"For music." He explained.

She gave him a look to suggest he was a dumbass and walked by him silently.

"What's it for?" he asked.

If she heard him, she was definitely ignoring him. She found a seat on his couch and turned on the TV. He flipped through some channels and finally found some cartoons.

"Go nuts." He said, handing her the remote.

After that, he ignored her as he worked. By tomorrow, he'd be able to put in his new chest piece.

…

Hope you liked it! More is coming. Thanks for reading!

~Geminisonic


	2. Chapter 2

Tony had finally finished his chest piece and was waiting for Jarvis to do his diagnostics on it. He was about to go check on Sadie when he turned around and she was standing right there.

"Jeez kid! Don't do that." He gasped. Then took a breath and finally asked, "You okay?"

He looked around and saw it was only 5 am. She must be an early riser.

She stood there for a moment then shook her head. He saw the dark circles under her eyes and noticed her heavy breathing again.

"Kid, you don't look so good." He said.

"Insulin." She said in a breathy and quiet voice.

"What?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"In..ssu…" she gasped out. Then without warning, she started shaking violently, collapsing to the floor.

"Holy-!" Tony yelled, getting up, "Jarvis! What's going on?" he yelled.

"Shall I connect to an emergency hospital, sir?" Jarvis asked.

"Uh…" Tony ground out, at a loss for what to do.

Sadie was wide-eyed on the floor, shaking. She was staring at him with fear and helplessness. Her breathing was rapid and he suddenly heard a beeping sound.

He looked and saw it was coming from the device on her pants. He disengaged it from her pants and saw a wire under her shirt connected to it. He lifted her shirt and realized the device was attached to the side of her body. He looked at the device, trying to figure out why it was beeping and what the numbers meant.

"Jarvis, what is this?" Tony asked.

"Sir, it appears to be an insulin pump." Jarvis said, a picture of the same device showed on the screen, "She seems to have a high level of insulin at the moment."

"Okay, so…what?" Tony yelled, getting flustered.

"According to my resources, some medication or some sugar will help. Juice is the appropriate method."

"Juice…right!" Tony sprang up and ran to his mini fridge, finally finding some bottled orange juice. He unscrewed the cap and tried lifting Sadie up. She flailed her arms and screamed in fear.

"Hey, it's okay!" Tony yelled, trying not to spill the juice, "I'm just giving you some juice!"

She shook her head, trying to fight him off, "N-n-no! G-Go..Aw-away!"

He sat her in his lap and finally grabbed her head and tipped it back, shoving the bottle into her mouth, "For your own good!" he grumbled.

She choked and spat out a bit, but he kept the bottle firmly on her mouth. She finally took a few swallows and he noticed an immediate change. Her body settled and she relaxed into his chest. Her breathing was still rapid but she was at least relaxing. She put her hands up to the bottle to grasp it and took a few more swallows.

Tony finally relaxed and took a breath. He had no clue he was sweating until he felt the chill.

She finished drinking and gasped for air, "Medicine."

Tony nodded, "Okay…" he was a little shaky, "Where?"

"Room." She panted.

He got up, carrying her quickly up the stairs. Once in her room, he placed her on the bed and rummaged through her stuff. He found a rather large black bag next to her luggage and opened it, realizing it contained so many pills, syringes, and devices, it actually sent shivers up his spine.

He grabbed the whole bag and put it on the bed.

"You know which ones to take?" he asked.

"All…them." She whispered, weakly.

"All of them?" he gasped, "Kid, that's a lot…"

She coughed and he realized that now wasn't the best time. He quickly went and got her a big glass of water then helped her down each and every pill that was in the bag. She was nice enough to even tell him how many pills each. Once they had finished that process he took a look in the bag and examined all the devices and pills.

He picked up a black zip clutch bag and opened it. Inside he found vials and syringes.

"Insulin injections." She whispered.

He put it down, then picked up another device.

"Blood meter." She whispered again.

He didn't have the heart to explore any more. He was suddenly feeling weak himself and he knew he needed to put that new chest piece in. He'd have to figure out what kind of mess his brother left him later.

Sadie was looking a lot better, but tired.

"Umm…I'll let you sleep." He muttered, getting her things off the bed.

She nodded and closed her eyes.

He didn't know what else to do so he just quickly put a blanket over her and told Jarvis to darken the room.

She suddenly gasped and yelled out, "Too dark!"

"Uh…night light Jarvis!" Tony said quickly. He just wanted to get out of there quickly.

A bunch of colorful butterflies lit up the room as they rotated across the walls. Sadie finally closed her eyes again and Tony finally had his chance to leave.

Once out of there, he vowed to take a look at her files as soon as he had the chance. There was something not right with Sadie and he needed to figure out what.

…

Pepper was cleaning her hands at the sink from all the gunk in Tony's chest piece. It was close to 10 am and she hadn't seen Sadie yet. She was just glad Sadie hadn't had to see her sticking her hand in Tony's chest. That would have been enough to give a kid nightmares.

She was about to sit down when she heard Sadie's door open by the kitchen.

"Hey Sadie!" Pepper smiled, "Did you sleep okay?" she asked.

Sadie shrugged and went to the table.

"Can I get you something to eat?" Pepper asked.

"Can I have some cereal?" Sadie asked politely.

"Sure." Pepper said, grabbing a bowl and spoon. She looked in the cupboard and was annoyed.

"Sorry, Sadie, no cereal, how about eggs." She tried.

"Okay." Sadie shrugged.

Pepper got to work making Sadie a simple egg and was proud of her handiwork.

She was just pouring Sadie some juice when Tony came up.

"What about me?" he whined.

"There's a pan on the stove." Pepper joked.

He shook his head and grinned, "Feelin' better kid?" he asked Sadie.

She nodded and continued to eat.

"Pep, I'm gonna need you to contact a Dr. Hill here in Malibu. We need to set an appointment for Sadie ASAP." He said quickly.

"Why? Is she okay?" Pepper asked, concerned.

"Not sure." Tony said.

Sadie was looking rather annoyed, but just continued eating.

"Okay, I'll get on that quickly. What kind of appointment are you thinking?"

"We're moving all her records to him. Just a meeting and checkup." He explained and gave her a look to say "_Tell you more later". _Pepper didn't argue.

Sadie was finally done and politely excused herself and took her dishes to the sink.

Pepper smiled, "It's nice to have such a polite kid in this house." She commented.

"I'm polite." Tony argued. Pepper raised her eyebrows at him and he backed off, looking sheepish.

…

Tony was still pretty shaken up by all that he had learned from Jarvis. Hardly any of it made sense and he was glad he made the call to Dr. Wu in New Haven. He had been Sadie's doctor from the minute she was born and he had expressed deep concern for Sadie and was sad she was leaving but immediately requested Dr. Hill in Malibu.

"I'd trust that man with my life. He and I went to Harvard Medical together." He explained, "Best child care doctor I've ever seen."

Tony was satisfied with that and was glad that Pepper had informed him of the appointment that afternoon. He decided to bring Pepper along in case she needed to know what was happening. He was relieved he might not be doing all the work.

In the waiting room, Sadie was very quiet. He could tell she was still very tired. He could see a bunch of sick kids, some were just coughing. Some were obviously in Chemo, and some even had tubes attached to them.

Pepper had a bad feeling this wasn't just an everyday doctor's visit and suddenly got a sinking feeling in her heart.

"Tony," She whispered, "Why are we here?" she asked.

"I need to hear a doctor explain it to me." He said truthfully. Pepper looked around nervously and Tony was relieved when they were called back.

They made Sadie change into a hospital gown right away and set her comfortably on an examination table that they adjusted to feel like a chair. They quickly hooked her up to a machine to monitor her heartbeat and blood pressure. She looked as though she were used to this treatment.

Pepper was beginning to get pale.

"Green is not your best color." Tony commented.

"Now is not a good time, Tony!" She whispered angrily, "Look at her! What is all this?" she exclaimed.

The nurse left explaining that Dr. Hill would be by in a few minutes. Pepper immediately jumped on Tony.

"What the hell, Tony? What is wrong with her?"

"I have heart failure." Sadie explained in the chair. Both turned to her in surprise and noticed she was glaring at them, "Since you're both gonna talk about me, I'll just tell you instead."

"Heart failure?" Pepper gasped.

Sadie sighed and looked at her like a parent would a very stupid child, "It means my heart doesn't work the way it's supposed to." She explained.

"What about the insulin thing?" Tony finally asked her. Hey if she was comfortable talking about it he might as well ask.

"I have Type 1 Diabetes. It's from the heart failure. My insulin pump gives me what I need but sometimes it's too much." She said.

Just then a middle-aged gray-haired man came into the room wearing a white coat and smiled at them all.

"Hi everyone!" he said, cheerfully, "I'm Dr. Hill."

"Stark, Tony Stark." Tony shook his hand, "And this is my personal assistant, Pepper Potts."

Pepper shook his hand.

"Sadie, is it?" he asked, going to shake Sadie's hand, "Dr. Wu told me a lot about you. He said you have the biggest brown eyes and just absolutely adore manatees and bears." He grinned.

She grinned back.

"How we doing today, Sadie? Any problems?" he asked.

"I had an insulin attack." She admitted.

He nodded and patiently listened while she recounted the morning attack.

"I gave her juice." Tony explained.

"What?" Pepper explained, "She had an attack and you didn't tell me or call 911?"

"I was going to let the doctor explain and she's fine." He argued.

Pepper was about to continue arguing when Dr. Hill interrupted them.

"Why don't you both sit down. It seems we have a lot to talk about today."

He checked her levels and nodded, finally grabbing a stool.

"First off, Sadie, I am sorry to hear about your parents. I know this is probably a very tough time right now, but we're gonna make sure you feel as good as possible during this process." He explained.

Sadie nodded sadly, then looked away.

"I am sorry for your loss as well Mr. Stark."

Tony shrugged and nodded, "Thanks."

"We have a great Child Psychologist here at the hospital if you want to set any appointments." He said.

"I'd like to know more about that later." Pepper said before Tony could remark, "But first, I feel we're, or rather, I, am a little…in the dark about Sadie's…condition." She admitted

"Well, that's what I'm here for. Tell me, what can I tell you about Sadie that you would like to know?" he asked.

"Uh…everything." Tony admitted.

Dr. Hill chuckled, "New to this, aren't you?"

"Yeah well, the heart thing isn't new to me, what is are her symptoms and…everything else." He said.

Dr. Hill nodded, "Well, we'll just start from the beginning. For a child to grow and develop, the heart needs to maintain normal pump function to provide optimal blood flow throughout the body. However, Sadie's heart does not function normally and that is the definition of a heart failure."

He continued, "She was born with what we call Over Circulation Failure, and I'll be honest, about 1% of all newborns will have some type of structural heart defects. In Sadie's case there are holes between the right and left chambers in the heart and because of these holes the blue and red bloods start to mix inside the heart. An abnormal heart valve does not properly cause blood to leak backwards. You following me so far?" he paused.

"What does that have to do with the diabetes?" Tony asked.

"Sadie has Type 1 Diabetes and is insulin dependent. We aren't quite sure what came first, really. Chicken-egg sort of deal. But you've already seen an effect of this, apparently. The insulin pump attached to her body regulates automatically the insulin needed to get into her body. However, as you saw, sometimes there can be just a little too much and that's why she needs sugars as well."

He continued, "You should also be aware of her asthma as well. Because her heart and blood are working overtime, her lungs don't get the help they need and this causes some breathing trouble. You can tell she's easily tired, weak, and nauseous."

"I saw a ton of devices and medicines. Are all of those even necessary?" Tony asked, still reeling from all of this information.

Dr. Hill leaned forward, "From the day she was born, she had surgeries up the wazoo. Not only is she on several medications to help her live, she has medicines that help with the devices she uses and to help with the symptoms."

"What kind of surgeries are we talking here?" Tony asked.

"She's had 4 major surgeries. One was to put a catheter in her heart, the other a stent. Then she had to have 2 major open heart surgeries. Unfortunately, those still didn't do the trick."

"So you're saying she's due for another surgery?" Pepper asked.

"We'd like to try again, see if we can't really get in there and give her some relief. We're also hoping for a new heart completely." He admitted, "But that is very risky."

Tony nodded.

"Dr. Wu is an amazing doctor and he has done a fine job with Sadie, and I'm going to continue to stay in touch and have him help me with her, but I'd like your permission to take some new tests today and have her see a psychologist and really get the ball rolling."

All Tony could do was nod.

"Okay, once she gets home, I'd like her to eat, get some rest, and lots of TLC. You have to call any time something out of the ordinary happens or if an attack is persistent and happens more than usual."

"Absolutely." Pepper said.

"Okay, Sadie, we're just going to do some basic blood tests, chest x-rays, ECG's and MRI's. I'd also like to do some stress tests as well."

Sadie nodded. Tony nearly forgot she was there. She seemed to just stare at the ceiling, lost in her own world.

Dr. Hill opened the door and had a nurse come in to collect Sadie.

"We'll be back in a bit." He smiled, "If you have any questions when I get back, don't hesitate to ask."

Pepper nodded and smiled weakly at Sadie as she was wheeled out. Once he closed the door, Tony couldn't help but release the biggest breath he had been holding.

"Oh my God." Pepper said.

"I had no idea." Tony groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Tony, this isn't your fault." She consoled him.

"No, you're right! It's not! How dare they just throw this kid on me. A kid who has a shit-load of issues!" he yelled.

"Tony-"

"And to never tell me about it ever. I mean, sorry we never spoke, but Jesus!" he stood up and nearly punched a wall.

"Tony, now you can do something about it. You are all she has now. You have to-"

"To what? Be there for her? Pepper, I wasn't even at her own parent's funeral. Hell, I never even went to the wedding or to my own Nobel Peace Prize Award!"

Pepper sighed, "Well now you can be there for her."

Tony sighed and sat down, "I just really don't have time for this." He groaned.

Pepper glared at him, "Well, make time."

"I know absolutely nothing about her. I only just found out her favorite animal is a butterfly."

"Manatee and bear." Pepper corrected.

Tony gestured as if to say _SEE?_

"Tony, it will take time. But I know you can do it."

He sighed, "I guess I don't have a choice."

"You do, you just have to make the right one."

"Gee, thanks Buddha."

She grinned, "Quit being snarky."

He couldn't help but grin back.

…

Sorry, I know that's a lot to take in. Poor Tony, that's a lot to take on here!

In case you were all wondering. My friend lost her 1 year old daughter to heart failure years ago and I have a sorority sister who has Type 1 Diabetes. The asthma is a side effect Sadie has. I gave her these issues not only as a memory but also for a very big reason that will be revealed later in the story.

Next chapter will be less intense, mainly showing Tony's incredibly bad parenting skills lol! Till then!


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was in the zone and it felt good to not think about anything else. His new project was really coming along nicely and it felt good to keep busy. A week had already passed and Sadie was officially moved in and settling.

Tony was a little hesitant at looking at schools for Sadie, however. Turns out her medical conditions made it very hard for her to go to school and her mother ended up homeschooling her. Tony didn't know whether to hire a tutor or just ship her off to some school with a nurse. In his opinion, he had bigger things to think about.

He was a little annoyed when Pepper brought Sadie down all of a sudden.

"What is it? I'm working." He grumbled. His workshop wasn't exactly a playground for kids.

"Tony, I really need to go and get some errands done, she's going to have to stay down here or you're going to have to spend some time with her upstairs." Pepper said, flatly.

Tony just stared at her, "Can't you just-"

"No." Pepper said and he knew right then and there that she really wasn't going out. She just wanted Tony to spend time with Sadie. He glared at her.

"Pep, this isn't exactly a safe space for children." He said.

"Then I suggest you do something in a safer environment." She said, then turned on her heel and walked away.

"Maybe we should find a babysitter." He called after her. Pepper ignored him and walked out, leaving Sadie standing awkwardly in front of him. Tony sighed.

"TV?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Book?" he asked.

Again, she shook her head.

He thought for a while and was interrupted by his robot knocking over an entire container of scraps and tools.

"YOU!" he yelled, making Sadie jump, "Sorry." He apologized, "Butterfingers over there was dropped on his head as a child." He grumbled.

Sadie grinned a little. Then he was hit with an idea, "Actually, you wanna help me out?" he asked.

She shrugged and nodded.

"See all those scraps he dropped, maybe you can help him sort them."

She gave him a condescending look but walked over anyways. Tony was relieved for the moment, only to turn around five minutes later to Sadie giggling and running around his robot. It was obviously enjoying itself trying to catch her.

"Careful." He grumbled then went back to work. He suddenly heard her squealing and turned around. Sure enough, his dummy robot had caught her and she was holding on, giggling as it lifted her up and down.

"Wow, finally, a use for you…babysitter." He said, continuing his work. He was becoming frustrated with a formula. JARVIS wasn't computing it and was arguing with him and he was ready to hurtle something at the computer until Sadie interrupted him.

"Finished." She said, smiling proudly but panting a little heavily.

"You should sit down, kid, I think Butterfingers wore you out." He said.

She gave him a hard look, "I'm not a baby." She argued. He couldn't help but admire that she had some spunk.

She took a look at his screen and was frowning at it, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Keep staring at the screen like that kid, maybe you'll actually fix my problem." He grumbled, turning to take a sip of coffee. Just then, Sadie crawled up onto his desk and stood up. She carefully balanced herself and suddenly, out of the blue, started erasing and writing on his equation.

"KID! That's not a coloring book!" he said angrily standing up. He quickly took her off the desk, grumbling, "Don't mess with my stuff, okay?"

"Calculating, sir….accepted." JARVIS said out of the blue.

Tony turned and stared at the formula. He couldn't believe it.

He turned and found a smug looking seven year old grinning at him, hands on her hips.

"What did you do?" he quickly asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I'm just a kid." She turned on her heel and walked back towards his robot, giggling at it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop! Now!" he called as she continued to ignore him and played with his robot. He finally walked over.

"Seriously, what did you do? I had that all worked out and you…"

"Fixed it?" she finished.

He nodded then stared suspiciously at her, "Are you Rain Man?"

She gave him an odd look to suggest she had no clue what he was talking about.

"Never mind." He said quickly then took her hand, dragging her back over, "Come here, show me what you did, and how you did it."

She sighed then pointed to the screen and explained to him what he missed. Holy crap! She talked like a physics professor at MIT. And the kid was only seven! Tony could only stare at her.

"How are you so good at this?" he had to wonder.

"I got bored sitting in bed a lot. I like Physics and Chemistry." She shrugged.

"So you mastered science at a level worthy of a graduate student?" he asked. She raised her eyebrows, looking confused.

"Meaning, you're a genius." He finally said, quickly.

"I don't know."

"Man your parents were proud I bet." He said, nodding to himself. If she were his kid….well, she kind of was now…well, he'd be pretty impressed. Hell he was impressed.

She shook her head sadly, "They didn't like me." She said quietly.

"What?" he said shocked.

She nodded, "They said that science was bad and useless and that I shouldn't focus on it and that I should just work on getting better." She stared at the wall as she said it.

"Science isn't bad. Why would they say that?" he asked.

She gave him a quick look and it hit him.

"They didn't want you to be like me." He said quietly. He sat down and sighed. She looked down embarrassed and sad.

"I think they're mad that I'm here." She said, "They didn't like you very much." She whispered, still looking embarrassed.

"No they didn't" he agreed, "But, that's not your fault." He quickly added.

She was silent for a bit, just leaning against the desk and staring at the screen.

"I did something pretty stupid." He admitted, "But again, it has nothing to do with you and I think it's pretty cool that you like science."

She gave him a fleeting look, "Cool?"

"Yeah, I mean, look what science got me?"

She looked around and grinned, "You have a robot."

"Yeah, and I mean, with science you can make a robot." He said.

She brightened up, "Really?"

"Yeah, science is a lot cooler than you think, course, so is having the money to use science, but-"

"Can you teach me to build a robot?" she asked.

Tony was stunned, he'd never had a kid come up to him and ask him that.

"Actually, I'm in the middle of something-" he stopped when he saw her crestfallen face and it once again confirmed that her eyes would be the death of the innocent bystander who naively looked deeply into them. He sighed.

"Tell you what, if you help me build my suit, I'll help you build a robot."

She brightened and grinned, "Really?"

He nodded and they shook hands on it.

"What are you building?" she asked finally, looking at the screen.

"I'll show you." He said opening his documents and showing her his Mark II design. She gasped.

"That is a robot!" she said, smiling.

"Actually, I'm going to wear it. It's a suit." He explained.

She looked from him to the picture, "Why?"

He shrugged, "Hobby."

She grinned and nodded, "What can I do?"

….

Pepper came down and was stunned to see Sadie lying on her front on Tony's desk helping him with something. They were so intent on what they were doing they didn't even notice her. She decided to stop and smile at the image in front of her. Then she sadly remembered what she came down here for.

"Sadie?" she called.

Sadie turned and smiled and Tony looked up, "Uh, she's busy." He said quickly.

Pepper grinned, "Actually it's time for her medicine." She said, looking a little sad.

Sadie's face fell, but she nodded and Tony helped her hop down.

"Can I come back?" she asked Pepper. Pepper gave Tony a look to say d_on't you dare spoil her dreams!_

"If you hurry, sure." Tony said, "I won't finish without you."

Sadie bolted and Pepper had to rush to keep up with her. Tony chuckled to himself. Since when did he enjoy the company of a kid? Then again, Sadie had to be the smartest kid he'd ever met. She caught on to Arc Reactor Technology faster than any scientist at his factory. Not only that, she understood how things worked and predicted any setbacks from any equation. He couldn't believe his brother never told him about her. Well, he could believe it, but still.

Sadie came back down and Pepper followed carrying a box of pizza.

"Pepper got us pizza!" Sadie said, happily.

"Pepperoni?" he asked, winking at Pepper, who only grinned, shoving the box at him playfully.

"Well, I'm gonna head home. Sadie, bed by 9, okay?" Pepper instructed. Sadie nodded and hugged her.

"Curfews suck." Tony chuckled, opening the box, "You took a slice?" he gasped.

Pepper winked and walked out.

Tony shook his head then saw Sadie grinning at him.

"What?" he asked, putting the box on the table and going to the bar area to get some plates.

Sadie giggled and said nothing.

He finally got them both pieces. Sadie had a coughing fit for a moment, but Tony was glad it passed pretty quickly.

They both sat down and ate some pizza in silence for a while.

"So what else do you do?" Tony finally asked, mouth full of pizza.

She swallowed, "You should chew your food and swallow before you speak." She said in all seriousness.

Tony nearly choked at her audacity. This kid never stopped getting snarky with him.

He narrowed his eyes, took a dramatic swallow. She grinned.

"Better?" he asked sarcastically.

"Much." She said, giving it right back.

"What else do you like to do?" he asked.

She frowned and thought for a moment, "I like reading and coloring." She shrugged, then she smiled, "I also like when they bring dogs to the hospital."

"They let dogs in the hospital? Since when?" Tony asked.

"They're therapy dogs. Some of the kids with health problems own dogs that take care of them. And other people bring in dogs that just sit with you."

"That's cool." Tony admitted.

"My friend Alessa took me and some others to the zoo because her dog could tell when she was going to have an attack."

"A dog can predict that?"

She nodded, "They're very smart."

Tony grinned and finished eating, "So why manatees and…bears?" he asked.

She smiled, "When I went to the zoo the bears and the manatees were out. The bears came to look at me and actually waved. The manatees were cute, but very hurt."

"Oh yeah, those big sea critters always getting run over." Tony mumbled.

"It's very sad."

Tony nodded. He could relate to the damage done by machinery. Granted it was his machinery that caused his injury but it went to show how vulnerable anyone could be. He had a feeling Sadie understood the meaning of pain and scars. He had yet to even see hers.

"Do you have scars?" he finally asked.

She gave him a look.

"From the surgery." He clarified.

She nodded, then continued eating.

He had a feeling that was a sore subject for her.

"Why did my parents hate you?" she finally asked, but she was looking away shyly when she asked him.

Tony was floored for a minute. He wasn't sure this was a conversation a kid should even have at this age. Not only that, it was embarrassing and he had a feeling she would hate him if he told her.

"Some other day, kid." He said, wiping his face with a napkin.

She looked a little embarrassed but nodded and finished eating.

He looked at the clock and realized it was already 8:30. He wasn't even close to getting his leg piece finished for the night. He knew Sadie would want to finish it with him, but he had to get it done.

"Well, kid, I think you should call it a night and you can help me tomorrow."

"But we're not done!" she argued.

"Yeah, I'll finish tonight and then you can tell me if I did anything wrong tomorrow." He grinned, "Plus, tomorrow we're working with fire and other cool stuff."

She brightened a little bit, though still looked disappointed.

"Well, good night." Tony said, turning to continue his work, then realized she was still standing there, looking awkward.

"Need something?" he asked.

"Can you put me to bed?" she asked, shyly.

"Uh…can't you do it yourself?" he asked.

She looked down, "Okay." She mumbled, turning to leave.

Tony suddenly felt kind of bad. He grumbled to himself, then decided to blame it on her damn eyes and cuteness for getting to him.

"Um…kid." He called.

She stopped and turned around, looking hopeful.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I guess I'm going upstairs to get some coffee anyways, so I'll just make sure you get to your room."

She smiled and waited for him to catch up to her. He reached the stairs and she gave them a very foreboding look, then took a deep breath, ready to climb each one. By the time Tony was on the 7th step, she was still on the second, looking exhausted. He gave in, looking at his watch.

He turned around and bent to pick her up but she squealed nervously and he quickly put her down, raising his arms in surrender.

"Sorry, just…trying to help." He tried.

She hugged herself and shook her head, "I want to do it." She said, angrily, glaring at him.

"Okay, I get it…" he said, sighing.

She took a breath and kept climbing. Tony followed her slowly, pausing on each step with her. They were halfway there and he could swear she was sweating a little. She finally started panting and then gave him a defeated look and nodded, "Okay…you can carry me now."

He gently lifted her and was surprised at how light she was. He also noted that he couldn't even feel her heartbeat. He realized it was just a very faint pump and though it was moving rapidly and her breathing was shallow, it was still very abnormal.

She suddenly gave him a look and looked down at his chest.

"What's that?" she asked.

He'd forgotten he hadn't shown her his chest piece.

"Oh, that's what I was telling you about earlier. Arc Reactor Technology." He explained.

She continued to stare at his chest curiously. He was glad they reached her room. He put her on the bed and she went to get her PJ's on.

He was about to leave when he saw a picture of his brother, his brother's wife, and Sadie in a family photo on her night stand. Sadie was getting changed in the bathroom so he took that moment to just take a look at his brother.

They looked very similar. Tim hadn't changed much. Though he looked happy. It was a nice photo of the family at the park, smiling. Sadie still looked very thin and had bags under her eyes, but she looked…happy.

He looked at Anna and couldn't believe how much she had changed from the last time he saw them. She looked stressed and thin, but also very happy. Tony couldn't help but smile and feel glad that at least his brother was happy before he died. Maybe it was better that Tony never bothered to get back in touch.

Sadie came out and climbed into bed. Tony sat down on the bed, not sure how this whole bedtime routine worked.

"Am I supposed to do anything?" he asked.

"You have to tuck me in, then tell me a story or something." She explained patiently.

"Uh…okay, the tucking in I can do, but the story thing…"

"You can tell me about that." She pointed to his chest.

He looked down, "Oh, that's…"

She was looking expectantly at him. He finally sighed, tucking her in. At first he was just going to brush it off, but her look made him give in.

He started by explaining the kidnapping and what happened after, but then, before he knew it, he was telling her everything. He talked about the cave, Yinsin, building his suit, and then coming home.

She gazed wide-eyed at him in wonder.

He finally stopped and took a deep breath. He had no clue why he told her all of that, but damn if this kid wasn't a good listener.

"Can I see it?" she asked shyly.

Tony smiled and lifted his shirt and couldn't help but chuckle at her wide-eyed expression as she looked at his chest-piece.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, reaching out to touch it, then changing her mind.

"Nah…and you can touch it." He said, leaning in so she could touch it.

"It feels warm." She whispered, then grinned, "I can feel your heartbeat through it."

"Yeah?" he grinned.

"It's stronger than mine." She said, and then lifted her shirt up.

Tony had to keep from gaping at the amount of scars and just the sheer grotesque look of them.

They both put their shirts down and he sighed, "You'll get better kid."

She shook her head sadly, "Mommy didn't want me to know, but I heard the nurses one time." She said, "They said I wouldn't live to the age of 10."

Tony felt angry suddenly. How unfair was that? Here he was only kidnapped for three months and injured near death for a day. Sadie was born with this problem and faced it every day and yet, life was still throwing her under the bus. If anything, she deserved this chest piece. Not him.

He was suddenly hit with an idea. He knew it was crazy, but what if...?

He gave her a firm look, "Sadie, I'm not gonna let that happen." He promised.

She merely shrugged, "That's what mommy and daddy said."

"Well, I'm gonna prove it." He nodded.

She just sighed and lay down.

Tony got up and decided that once he could work out the kinks and get his suit running, then maybe, just maybe…

"Good night Uncle Tony." She yawned, "Night light."

"Night kid." He said, turning off the lights.


	4. Chapter 4

Sadie was humming a tune and looking over Tony's formulas. She paused in her humming then gave him a dark look as he finished putting on his leg pieces. He was about to try his thrust capacity to see how far they could take him.

"Uncle Tony, this isn't safe." She said.

"Relax kid, it's just a test." He reassured her.

"No, your formula has too much thrust capacity. You'll hurt yourself." She warned.

"Kid, it's okay, I'm only gonna start out small."

"The smallest thrust capacity will shoot you to the moon!" she cried exasperatedly.

"We'll see." He said, ignoring her. She groaned and covered her eyes as he started up the camera and stood in the middle of the floor.

The rest she chose to block out as her worst fears were confirmed when Tony was shot straight up going 50 MPH in the air and hitting the back wall. He fell down and she could see the fire safety dummy douse him.

She sighed as he got up, mainly relieved that he was okay.

"I told you." She grumbled, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, at least now we know what we have to work on." Tony said, rubbing his aching head.

She narrowed her eyes at him and went back to correcting his formulas.

Pepper finally came down around 15 minutes later.

"Tony, can I talk to you?" she asked, smiling at Sadie.

"Fine, make it quick, we're on a roll." Tony said, jumping to join her.

Sadie continued working.

"Tony, we need to think about schooling and possibly a nurse or something." Pepper said.

"I don't like the thought of her at a school." Tony admitted. Sadie was very smart, but he knew the setbacks of that and he also knew how much harder it would be on her medically.

"Me neither, so, because I figured you would say that, I've compiled a list of tutors in the area looking for jobs."

"Great." Tony said taking the file and looking through it. He threw pictures of older ladies on the ground, found one that looked like a librarian and tossed it. Then came across a few younger women and nodded appreciatively.

"Tony, be serious."

"Do any of them teach high level science and mathematics?" he asked.

"Uh…Tony, she's seven."

"Yeah with an IQ of like 1,000." He said.

Pepper sighed, "There is one who specializes in math and science and teaches high level courses, but don't know."

"Call her. I want a good tutor and one that encourages science." He said.

"Okay." Pepper said, taking the file and turning to leave. She suddenly saw the fire extinguishing fluid on the ground, "TONY! What have you been doing?" She yelled.

Sadie and Tony gave each other guilty looks.

…

It had been a week of Tony and Sadie working on his suit. She was proving herself an amazing assistant and Tony was actually impressed at how much his niece could handle. He kind of regretted never meeting her until now. He just thanked God she wasn't such a buzz kill like her dad. He was such a history buff and was always so uppity. Tony was amazed at how laid back Sadie was and seemed to take everything in stride.

Unfortunately though, he was reminded of the harsh truth as they sat in the hospital waiting to do more tests.

While waiting in the examination room, Pepper was checking some emails while Tony drew up some new ideas for his suit. Now and then he would show Sadie the pictures and she would smile and nod excitedly.

"It's good to see you two making something together." Pepper said, her eyes still on her IPhone.

Before Tony could remark a lady came in with a dog wearing a blue vest. It was a beautiful Golden Retriever and the vest said "Therapy Dog" on it. Sadie's eyes brightened and she grinned from ear to ear.

"Hi there, my name is Mona and this is Hector." The lady said, "Dr. Hill said that Miss Stark here loves dogs, so I thought I'd bring him on by."

"Great! Oh, he's so sweet!" Pepper said, smiling.

Sadie was actually bouncing a little on the examination table.

The dog jumped up and joined her and Tony was impressed at how laid back the dog was letting a strange kid with tubes and wires all over the place just love up on him.

Dr. Hill came in and smiled, "Glad you met Hector. He's a popular guy here."

Sadie grinned and continued petting him.

"Is it okay if you watch him for me? I'm gonna go get something to eat real fast." The lady smiled.

Sadie nodded happily. Tony had never seen her look so happy. For a minute, she wasn't a sick kid.

Dr. Hill however began to frown, "Sadie, there's a test we need to do today and I won't lie, it's very painful."

Sadie stopped petting Hector and looked up, her face falling.

Dr. Hill sat down, "We want to make sure that if we're going to go through with this surgery that there are no other bacteria's or diseases attacking any other part of your body. So we need to take a bone marrow sample."

Tony's face fell along with Sadie's. He'd heard how painful those were.

"You're going to put her under, right?" he asked, suddenly nervous for Sadie.

Dr. Hill looked sad, "Unfortunately, we can only numb her back a little. It will be quick, but she will feel some pain."

Sadie's face grew pale.

"That's sick!" Tony yelled, "A kid can't handle that, at least put her under!"

"Mr. Stark, I can't. And that's why I had Hector come in here. He sits with kids when we draw blood and do other tests. It helps them stay calm." He explained, "Now, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave for the test."

Pepper nodded getting up, ashen faced. She herself was agreeing with Tony but she didn't want to upset Sadie.

"Can Uncle Tony stay?" Sadie asked weakly.

Dr. Hill looked up at Tony, who shrugged.

"If he promises to sit back and not get in the way, then sure." Dr. Hill relented. Tony had a feeling he'd fallen under Sadie's eye-spell. Poor sap never stood a chance.

Pepper left, squeezing Tony's arm in comfort. Tony sat back down and let the nurse get ready. He took a look at the giant needle and had to keep from knocking the nurse to the ground. Holy cow! There was no way Sadie could withstand a needle like that. And awake!

"Okay, sweetie, just a quick shot to numb you. I promise to make it quick." The nurse said, turning Sadie on her side. Tony tried not to look away and found himself gripping the sides of his chair.

Sadie sucked in a quick breath.

The nurse got the jumbo needle ready.

Tony couldn't help it, he closed his eyes and heard Sadie cry out in pain. It was a painful 15 seconds of listening to Sadie cry until the nurse finally declared that she was done. He saw her clean and bandage Sadie up.

She nodded and smiled at Tony, "Thank you for being patient, Mr. Stark. The doctor will come back and then you can go." She informed him. Tony nodded, still reeling from what he'd heard.

He looked over and found Sadie wrapping her arms around the dog and crying silently. He didn't know what to do. He wondered what Tim and Anna did at a time like this. And the thought hurt knowing they probably had to witness this from the minute she was born. It tore at his insides a little.

"You okay?" he asked in a shaky voice he was trying to control.

She panted and he saw her nod. Hector whined and licked her face. She grinned weakly and pet him.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like an idiot for just sitting there. Hell a dog did a better job comforting a kid than he did.

He was relieved when Dr. Hill came back but found he had to try and focus on what the doctor was saying and push the thought of what had just happened out of his memory.

…..

"Where are we going?" Pepper kept asking Tony. Tony had told Happy to drive them somewhere but only he and Tony knew where. Happy was grinning. Sadie on the other hand, looked exhausted. He wondered if it was a good time after what she'd been through but, then again, he was always an impulsive guy.

"Can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise."

"Tony, you know I worry about your idea of surprises." Pepper mumbled.

"Relax, it's not like that." He reassured her.

"I won't until it's over." Pepper huffed, "Tony, Sadie's exhausted, we should get her home."

"She won't be for long, trust me." Tony said.

"That is a task not even a saint can handle." Pepper said.

Points for Pepper.

"Here we are, sir." Happy said from the driver's seat. Pepper looked out and then gaped at Tony in shock.

"Told you." He grinned.

"Tony! Are you-" Pepper began.

Sadie looked outside at that moment and her face went from tired and pale to bright and glowing. She had the biggest smile and glanced at Tony.

"Really?" she exclaimed.

"Yep." Tony smiled.

She was bouncing excitedly.

And…points for Tony.

Pepper groaned as they all got out. She was worried enough about Tony's shenanigans plus a kid, but now this? A dog?

….

Mona had directed Tony straight to this place. They not only put up shelter dogs for adoption as well as rescues, but they had dogs on site that had been trained specifically as working therapy dogs. He'd called the place right away asking for dogs that had training in heart conditions, asthma, diabetes, and most of all, work with children. They informed him of three specially trained dogs at the shelter and Tony was excited. Hey it was the least he could do for the kid until he got his other plan rolling.

Sadie was jumping up and down, excitedly. He worried for a minute that she would get too worked up, but he didn't have the heart to spoil her mood.

"Sadie, take it easy." Pepper cajoled.

"Hey, come on Pott's let her have some fun." Tony said.

Pepper glared at him, "Tony, she's just had a very trying test done to her today. She needs to take it easy."

"Party pooper." Tony mumbled.

"Well, then you are giving her her medication tonight." Pepper said and Tony knew he'd lost.

Points for Pepper.

"Mr. Stark?" a nice young lady came up and shook hands with them.

"Yeah, we spoke on the phone." Tony said.

"Wonderful to have you here. We have the three dogs ready to meet your little girl." She smiled.

Sadie was too happy to even speak. And Tony didn't have the heart to correct the lady about Sadie not being his.

"Come on back." The lady said and they all followed her. Pepper was looking around anxiously and Tony was too busy trying not to laugh at how Sadie went from lethargic sick kid to overly excited child.

They came to a room with a lot of dogs being trained and playing with volunteers. Some were wearing vests while others were wearing bandanas. The lady had them sit down and then showed them the three dogs from afar that they were looking at.

One was a Collie breed with a lot of fur, the other was a Golden Labrador, and the third…Tony had to keep his eyes from bugging out. It was huge! No, massive! A black Bullmastiff. He prayed Sadie would pick anything but that dog.

"Rosary is the Collie and she's very playful but very responsible and loyal. Duke is the Lab and he's very obedient and listens very well and is very tame. Kala is the Bullmastiff. I know she looks a little scary but she is very protective and loyal to a tee. She is one of the smartest dogs here."

The first two dogs continued listening to the volunteers however the Bullmastiff, Kala, came over immediately. It was almost like she could tell there was a sick kid here. She went up and carefully sniffed Sadie, who looked a little nervous.

"She won't bite, will she?" Pepper asked nervously.

"No, the only thing she will even think to attack is a predator threatening to hurt her family." The volunteer declared proudly.

Kala wiggled her stump of a tail and let her tongue hang out. Sadie put her hand out nervously and Kala met her halfway and let Sadie pet her. Kala got closer and rested her head on Sadie's lap, looking content. Sadie smiled, feeling more relaxed.

"If you want, you can walk with her, see how she does." The volunteer said.

"Oh, I don't-" Pepper started, but Sadie interrupted getting up, "OKAY!" she said happily and started walking towards the door.

"Uh..wait!" Tony said, trying to catch up. So much for prayers.

Kala didn't even need a leash, but the volunteer gave them one in case. Kala walked patiently next to Sadie as they went out to the large fenced in yard. There were other shelter dogs being walked, some on leashes and some bounding around playfully.

"She seems pretty tame." Tony remarked.

Pepper sighed, "I guess Sadie does seem to like her, but, maybe the Collie would be better." She whispered, hopefully.

"Yeah right, all that fur?" Tony snorted.

Pepper rolled her eyes. Just then they heard a loud bark and could see a large Great Dane bounding towards them. Sadie tensed up nervously as it headed straight for her.

Kala got in front of Sadie and barked loudly at the dog, growling low in her throat. The other dog stopped, confused and Kala continued to growl at it, keeping it from bothering Sadie. Finally the dog walked away and Kala went back to her sweet self, licking and checking on Sadie. They finally continued walking and Tony officially knew he was taking this dog home with them.

"Oh God." Pepper panted, "It's such a…massive dog." She groaned.

"Relax, Sadie loves her and she's protective." Tony said.

"You are feeding her." Pepper argued.

"What?" Tony gasped.

"Your money, your niece, your dog…YOUR problem." She said and walked with Sadie back to the shelter.

Tony stood there sulking in his defeat. Points for Pepper.

…

"Uhh…sir…." Happy said as he saw the massive dog coming towards the car. He was shifting uncomfortably with wide eyes.

"New friend." Tony said, "May need to stop at a pet store on the way home."

"What are we getting sir, horse feed?" Happy grumbled.

Tony giggled at Happy's joke, "I'm gonna steal that one!" he laughed.

Sadie climbed in the car and Kala watched her like an overbearing mother then climbed in with her.

Pepper sighed, rolling her eyes and got in as well.

Tony finally climbed in and found he was squished between the door and a very big panting dog who was smiling with her tongue out and drooling on his upholstery.

"By the way," Pepper said quickly, as though remembering something, "I called that tutor and we have an interview in 2 hours, so be ready." She said.

"Awesome, killing two birds with one stone today." Tony said. Nobody laughed.

"Nothing?" he asked, looking around, then sat back.

The dog looked at him as he talked and drooled on his pant leg, causing Tony to wonder why on earth he was so impulsive.

…..

Sadie was playing with Kala in the living room as Tony and Pepper waited to meet the tutor. Pepper finally smiled, "She and Kala do really seem to like each other." She commented.

Tony nodded.

Pepper gave him a look, "Why did you get her a dog?" she grinned as she asked it.

Tony shrugged, "Less time to bother me." He mumbled.

Pepper rolled her eyes, knowing full well his niece had stolen his heart.

"Sir, a Mr. James Harper is here."

"What? Probably a sales merchant, tell him to scram!" Tony said.

"No! Show him in Jarvis." Pepper said.

"We have the tutor coming soon." Tony argued.

"Tony…that is the tutor." Pepper growled and went to greet the young, very attractive looking man into the house.

Tony sized him up. The guy was a hunk! He was obviously fresh out of grad school in his late twenties. He wore a very nice suit for the interview and had bronze skin, brown eyes, and a mop of messy, but sexually messy, copper hair. No way was this guy gonna be Sadie's tutor.

"Mr. Stark." James Harper said, nodding and holding out his hand. Tony quickly shook it, but begrudgingly so.

"And is this little Sadie?" Harper asked as Sadie came over with Kala, "Whoa! That is a big dog." He laughed.

Sadie smiled and shook his hand, "Her name is Kala, Uncle Tony just got her for me today." She said proudly. Harper got down onto her level and listened very patiently to her.

"Pepper." Tony whispered on the side of his mouth, "I thought you called a woman."

"I didn't say it was a woman." She grinned, not moving her mouth.

"I said to call "her"." Tony whispered back.

"Hmm." Pepper giggled, "That's where you just assumed."

"She seems very smart! If you don't mind, I'd like to do a couple of science and math tests with her to see how far along she is." Harper said.

Tony nodded, very annoyed and followed them.

Harper sat at the kitchen table and waited for Sadie. He began just asking her some basic math and science questions then Tony noticed with each question he jumped ahead a few grade levels until he was literally asking graduate level questions. He smiled proudly at her.

"Sadie, you are by far one of the smartest kids I have ever met." He said, "But I would definitely also like to help you catch up on some other basic courses as well and maybe get you into some computer technology."

Sadie smiled, "Tony's helping me with that. I really wanna learn how to use a computer. Mommy wouldn't let me."

"Well, you won't be in the dark for long." He smiled.

Sadie grinned.

"Sadie, I think you need some rest now, you've had a long day." Pepper said.

Sadie nodded. Tony noticed her whole demeanor change and he could tell all the events of the day were starting to show.

"See you later, Sadie." Harper said.

Sadie smiled and left.

Finally Tony decided to get this interview going. If he was going to hire a MALE to teach his niece, the guy might as well know his stuff.

"Tell me about your education." Tony said stiffly.

"Well," Harper started, "I graduated first in my class at UCLA. I went on to their intern program for my master's degree and before I knew it I was at the doctorate level!"

"So…what is your major focus?" Tony asked, trying not to squirm.

"Well, I was in the advanced placement for physics and mathematics. Then I thought about going into engineering but when I got my doctorate I was told I could teach and I just love the idea of teaching." He said, excitedly.

"What would you hope to gain by being Sadie's tutor?" Pepper asked, coming back into the room, clearly at ease with the young man, which made Tony all the more annoyed.

"She seems like a very bright girl, and I feel for her being sick and all. My brother died from cancer a while back and he and I were very close." James said sadly.

Pepper smiled warmly, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It got me thinking I could really do something for sick kids, you know. And helping Sadie and being her tutor would be such an honor and a privilege. I guess I'd feel a little closer to honoring my brother's wishes for me."

Pepper nodded, "Well, I have no doubt Sadie would be in good hands with you."

"She's a great kid, and very smart, but she definitely could use a little more tutoring in other basic skills!" James commented, smiling.

Pepper looked expectantly at Tony.

"What do you know about Arc Reactor Technology and what my company does?" he asked.

"Well, I actually did a thesis on the benefits of Arc Reactor in my undergrad, but also, I've considered interning at your company before, but, things got in the way." He said, shrugging.

Tony knew this guy would be perfect for Sadie, but dear God if he'd rather watch a sexy female tutor with his niece than this guy. He sighed. Maybe he could hire a sexy nurse later.

He shook his hand and finally asked the million dollar question, "When can you start?"

….

Okay, gonna stop there for now. Next chapter you're gonna find out what Tony did to make his brother lose all contact with him. Feel free to make some guesses!


	5. Chapter 5

This was originally one huge chapter but I'm breaking it into two, because it just got to be so long in writing and I couldn't stop. So enjoy the bonus of 2 updates!

….

Pepper came down to see Tony continue his work. He seemed tense however and didn't really speak to her.

"Tony? Are you okay?" Pepper asked. She knew it had been a long day for him, but that didn't mean he needed to be so cold towards her.

"Fine." He answered tersely.

Pepper bit her bottom lip and finally just decided to let him stew for the night.

"Well, I'm going." She said, just as nasty. Then left.

Tony heard her stomp up the stairs and decided to just let it go. What was the point arguing that she totally picked Mr. Handsome as Sadie's tutor on purpose to make him angry? He knew it was true and so did she. He knew her game in all of this. He threw his tool down in anger and seethed for a moment.

In the end, he was only mad at himself. He should have staked a claim on her from the beginning. But God if he wasn't such a man whore.

He shook his head and sat down. He thought of Tim.

_He and Tim were eating dinner and flicking peas at each other. Their mom was out and their dad was reading a paper. Telling them to quit. They were giggling and enjoying themselves until their dad threw the paper on the table and yelled at them to clean up the mess and go to bed. _

_He and Tim were in school. Tim had just given a speech for his history class and was telling Tony all about how the teacher approved of his paper and wanted to publish it. Tony was too busy flirting with the ladies walking by to really hear him._

"_Tony? Are you even listening to me?" Tim yelled angrily. _

"_What?" Tony asked._

"_God, you are such a horny 14-year-old." Tim grunted._

"_Hey, you're a senior who's been nominated Prom King. I'm sure you and Miss Bookworm will have all kinds of kinky fun." Tony smirked._

_Tim blushed, "How did you know I asked her?" _

"_Please, word gets out." _

"_Well, Veronica is sweet, so don't make fun of her." Tim argued. _

"_Relax, man. And I'm glad your paper got noticed." _

"_Thanks, bro." _

_He and Tim were at their dad's funeral. Neither said a word, neither cried. They just sat there. _

"_I don't know about you, but, I could go for a drink." Tony murmured to Tim._

_Tim grinned, "Make that twenty. Meet you at the Clover Club." _

_He was walking down the aisle receiving his diploma from MIT. He looked up and saw Tim whistling and cheering for him. Next to him was his latest girlfriend, Anna. Tony held up the diploma and made his signature peace sign. Tim rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but grin for his little brother. _

_At his graduation party, hosted at Tim's place, they celebrated and toasted their achievements. Tony would soon be the newest CEO of Stark Industries while Tim became a legendary history professor at Yale. _

"_You two look a little too drunk right now." Anna came over and kissed Tim, smiling at Tony. _

"_Me? Never. Him, naturally." Tim joked. Tony smiled; he had never seen his brother so happy and carefree. _

"_To you guys. For making it…how long?" Tony asked, raising his cup._

"_2 years." Anna said, fondly. _

_Tony couldn't help but admire how pretty she was. Her blonde hair and green eyes so vivid and gorgeous. No wonder Tim fell for her. At least his brother had taste. _

_Tony quickly took a gulp, "Man, either put a ring on it or move on." Tony joked. _

"_Hey now, we all can't be playboys like you, bro." Tim warned, but smiled at his brother._

_Anna smiled and went to go get some more food._

"_Tony, I need to ask you something?" Tim said. _

"_Sure." Tony said, leaning in. _

_His brother looked around to make sure no one was watching._

"_I know this is your party, but…can I maybe…propose to Anna here?" Tim asked, looking sheepish but excited. _

_Tony brightened, "DUDE! Hell yes!" _

_Tim relaxed and showed Tony the ring he'd bought. Tony whistled. _

"_Think she'll like it?" Tim asked. _

"_If she doesn't she's blind as a bat." Tony joked._

_Tim smiled, "I want you to be my best man." He said, clapping his hand on Tony's shoulder._

"_I already am." Tony said and smiled with him. They embraced. Tim suddenly looked nervous and Tony had to brush off his sleeves and get him pumped, "Go get her!" he whispered. _

_Then Tony stood on a chair, rather tipsy, and made an announcement, "Everyone! My brother here has something he'd like to ask a certain someone." _

_He winked at Tim and watched with fondness as his brother got down on one knee, professed his love and proposed to a tearful Anna. Tony was relieved when she said yes. He couldn't have been happier. _

"_Tony! You made it!" Anna said, happily. _

"_Only took you two long enough to finally get this shindig on a roll." Tony said. It had literally taken 3 years for both of them to finally settle down and plan the wedding. _

"_And when have I never made it?" He grinned. _

_She let him in to their new house and Tony was pleased Tim was doing okay for himself. _

_He had to gag when a bunch of women stared at him and batted their lashes. Nothing like a bunch of ninnies at a wedding shower to boost your ego. _

_Tony put his gift on the table and went to go find Tim. He and some other guys were celebrating in the kitchen with the good stuff. _

"_Tony!" Tim yelled happily, "You made it! Man of the hour!" _

_Tony shook his hand, "Only sold a few weapons and made millions." He boasted. _

"_My brother, the Merchant of Death!" Tim joked. _

"_How come you're drunker than I am?" Tony joked and grabbed a martini. _

_Three hours into the party, most of the guests had left, leaving the partiers. Anna, Tim, and Tony were all getting pretty wasted. And Tony couldn't be happier. _

_Tony went to go find more ice when he heard someone sobbing in the basement. He went down to find Anna crying on the couch, holding some wine. _

"_Whoa!" Tony said, coming down, "No crying at my brother's wedding shower." He said, sitting down next to her. _

"_Tony! Oh…I'm sorry." Anna cried. _

_Tony grabbed a handkerchief and gave it to her._

"_Thanks." She said, blowing her nose. _

"_You wanna tell me what's wrong?" he asked her. _

_She sighed, "It's just all happening and I just…I don't know. I'm starting to wonder if all this waiting was worth it." _

"_What are you saying? You and Tim adore each other." Tony said, shocked._

"_I do love him, more than you know, it's just…" she shook her head. _

"_Hey." Tony said, lifting her chin, "No crying okay."_

_She smiled weakly and before they knew it, they were making out. _

Tony shifted in his seat as he angrily went through the make out, the sex, the drunken whispers, right up to…

"_Anna? Tony? You down here?" Tim called. _

Tony tried blocking out the hurt and the pain, but couldn't help it. He was suddenly reliving it in his head.

"_Anna? What are you? TONY?" _

_Anna and Tony sat up, drunken, dazed and confused. _

"_Oh my God!" Anna sobbed, suddenly, realizing what she did. _

"_Shit!" Tony yelled._

_Tim just stood there, looking hurt and confused. _

"_You just couldn't wait to get into her pants, could you?" He yelled angrily, storming out._

"_Tim wait!" Tony cried, going after his brother, "Tim, please, I'm-"_

"_What? You're sorry? For sleeping with MY fiancée?" _

"_Tim, it isn't what you think." _

"_God, Tony, you know, I thought you were better than dad and all that nonsense the papers make you out to be, but in the end, all you will ever be is some pathetic loser." _

"_Tim-"_

"_Don't bother coming to the wedding. In fact, don't bother ever knocking on my door ever again!" Tim yelled, throwing a punch at Tony. Tony retaliated in anger. _

"_Stop!" Anna came running out, "Both of you stop! Tim, please, I did this."_

"_No, I did." Tony said, angrily, "I bet I'm better than you in bed any day. You always were a boring little fuck!" _

_Tim spat, "GET OUT!" _

"_With pleasure." Tony said with venom, and then walked out. _

That was the last time he ever saw his brother. He and Anna obviously mended fences, considering they got married 3 months later. Tony of course, never showed. 

All he could remember was just how angry both of them were. Angry enough that Tim never even told him about Sadie. Hell, both of them kept science from her. Tony rubbed the back of his neck and stared angrily at his computer screen. Sometimes he just wished he'd made an effort. At least tried to get into contact with them. But in the end, maybe sorry just wasn't enough.

He was so lost in thought; he hadn't realized that Sadie was standing right next to him.

He jumped when he saw her bright yellow sleeveless PJ's.

"Hey!" he said, trying to recover himself, "You okay?"

Kala was with her and was looking frantic, suddenly. She was whining and not leaving Sadie's side. Sadie was leaning into her.

"Sadie?" he tried.

She got paler and suddenly threw up on his shoes.

…

_This was one of my favorite chapters to write actually. Just the thought of Tony having a brother and doing something like that makes sense to me. It also explains his inability to say he's sorry and explain everything he does and make excuses. But it also shows he loved his brother and had that growing up, hence why he cares about Sadie. _

_Enjoy the next part!_


	6. Chapter 6

"O-K!" he yelled, standing up. She coughed and cried, clutching her stomach.

"Ahh! Jarvis!" Tony yelled, reaching for her, but afraid to pick her up, "What's wrong?"

"Sir, it appears she has vomited."

Tony rolled his eyes and finally gave in, scooping her up, carefully. He checked her meter, but her numbers were okay.

"Jarvis, symptoms." He finally said, taking her upstairs, only to have her vomit on him again.

He grimaced, racing towards her bathroom.

"Symptoms are vomiting, coughing, and a fever."

"How high?" Tony asked, setting Sadie on the countertop while he grabbed a towel.

"I-I'm sorry." She choked and sobbed.

"Not your fault." He said, wiping himself off. She was still pale.

"M-mo-ommy." She cried.

"Sir, her temperature is 102.3 and still rising."

Tony's eyes widened and he felt her forehead. She was burning up.

"Jarvis, something, anything, help me out!" Tony said, frantically. He couldn't believe how completely helpless he was in that moment.

"Shall I call an emergency hospital?"

"Call Dr. Hill." Tony said quickly.

"One moment….Sir, he's on the line."

"Hello?" a tired voice said on the line.

"Dr. Hill, its Tony Stark." He said quickly.

"Mr. Stark? Is everything all right?" Dr. Hill asked.

"Uhh…" Tony said, "Shit!"

Sadie suddenly vomited all over herself.

"Sir, her temperature is now at 103." Jarvis said.

"Mr. Stark?" Dr. Hill said.

"Sadie's throwing up, temperature is 103. What should I do?" He finally asked.

"She needs to come in. I'll meet you at the hospital. In the meantime, just drive her over quickly and put a cold washcloth on her neck and forehead."

"Got it." Tony said. He quickly wrung out some washcloths then grabbed Sadie running to the car. Kala jumped in and stayed vigilant with Sadie while Tony put a bucket near her head and the washcloths on her face and neck.

"Sir, not only are you exceeding the speed limit by 70 miles, but you have forgotten to buckle your niece and yourself in as well." Jarvis said.

"I don't care, Jarvis, just tell me how close I am." He yelled.

Sadie was moaning and crying in the backseat, "I wan-want my-mo-ommy." She cried.

"Me too kid." Tony said, softly, still trying to focus on the road.

He was relieved when he finally made it. He parked at a very bad angle in a parking spot then grabbed her and took her in. Once there he met Dr. Hill who put her on a stretcher then took her back.

"Tony!" Sadie yelled, looking nervous.

"I'm not leavin'." He said.

"We'll take her back now, just wait here." Dr. Hill said, taking her away. Tony could still hear her crying and he finally grabbed his phone and called Pepper.

"Tony? What is it?" she asked, sounding tired.

"Pepper, Sadie's in the hospital. I need you to grab some clothes for her" he said. Then noticed a few people staring at him and remembered he was also covered in vomit, "…and me."

"What?"

"Just…do it." He said, and then hung up. People continued to stare at him. Course, he was the big shot celebrity in a hospital covered in vomit and a giant mastiff at his side. He finally went to a chair and sat down. Kala laid her head on Tony's knee, drooling and whining.

He pet her absentmindedly, "She'll be fine." He said, more to himself than to her.

"Hey man." A familiar voice said, suddenly.

Tony looked up and gaped.

"Rhodey?" he smiled and shook his hand, "What are you-"

"Pepper called, I was in the neighborhood…You…smell like rotten bacon." He sniffed unpleasantly.

Tony chuckled and rubbed his neck.

"And that is one…big…dog." Rhodey said, laughing, but petting Kala none the less, "Here's some clothes." He grinned, giving Tony a bag.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Tony quickly went and changed then came out to find Rhodey talking to Pepper.

"Tony!" she said, running to him, "Is she okay?"

"Not sure yet." He said.

"What happened?"

"Uhh, this." He said, showing her the vomit covered shirt.

"Oh my God." She gasped.

"High temperature and all that." He sighed.

"You gonna be okay, man?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Tony said defensively.

Rhodey just gave him a look, "Well, I'm off tomorrow. If you need a day, I'd be glad to hang out with her for a while."

"Didn't know you were on the market for a babysitting gig." Tony joked.

Rhodey playfully punched him, "Hey, not every day my best friend gets a new kid."

"Tony. Oh God, I should have stayed." Pepper said, obviously very upset. Her hand was on her forehead and she was pacing.

"Hey, calm down, she'll be fine." He said, finally taking her shoulders. He felt an electric pull between them and wondered if she could too. But he knew now wasn't the time.

"Mr. Stark?" Dr. Hill said coming out. He looked tired, but vigilant.

"How is she?" Tony asked.

He smiled grimly, "She'll be fine. She just got a little over excited from today. Course, that happens when you take a kid to get a dog the same day we take a bone marrow sample." He grinned, raising his eyebrows at Tony.

Tony looked a little sheepish, but shrugged.

Dr. Hill chuckled and shook his head, "Well, her fever is down and she stopped throwing up. Her levels are normal so you can take her home, but keep a close eye on her."

Tony nodded.

"We have clothes for her, if you wouldn't mind." Pepper said, handing the doctor some of Sadie's clean PJ's.

"No problem, we'll bring her out in a few minutes." Dr. Hill said, leaving.

Tony turned to Pepper and knew he was in for it.

"I told you!" she practically yelled.

"Hey, she loves the dog!" Tony defended her, "What you wanna take the dog back?"

"Of course not, that's not what I meant." Pepper said, angrily.

"Pepper! She's fine! She can come home. Now let's all just…" Tony said, obviously very tired and stressed.

Pepper finally took a breath and took sympathy on him, "Okay. You're right, let's just all go home and get some rest."

"You can take a day off if you want." Tony said.

Pepper stared at him in shock.

Rhodey finally took that moment to jump in, "Look, if you two don't mind, after I meet her, I'm gonna head out."

Realizing that neither had heard him, he just shrugged grinning and sat down to pet Kala.

"Yeah…no weirdness there." He groaned quietly to Kala.

Rhodey was the first to see Sadie come out and he smiled. He knew a Stark when he saw one. But what floored him was how much she did look like Tony. He figured Tim probably looked the same, even though he'd never seen or met the guy.

He got up to shake her hand, "Hey there Sadie. My name is James Rhodes, but you can call me Rhodey." He said.

She smiled weakly and shook his hand, Kala moved by her side, vigilant as always, "Uncle Tony talks about you." She said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he said you found him."

Rhodey smiled.

"Hey!" Tony came over, "Ready to go home, kid?"

She nodded, looking exhausted.

"I'll see you later, Sadie." Rhodey said.

"Oh, Sadie." Pepper said, coming over, looking very distressed, "Are you feeling okay?" she asked, rubbing her hair behind her ears. Sadie remembered her mom doing that to her a lot. She nodded weakly and let Tony carry her out.

"Pep, seriously, you can take tomorrow off." He said, continuing their argument.

"No, Tony, you obviously need some help." She said.

"She'll be fine." Tony said, "Will you just relax?"

Pepper sighed and got into her car. Tony actually strapped Sadie in this time then took off for home, only to find Pepper would not stop trying to call him.

Pepper greeted him at the door of his house and he finally relented.

"Okay, you can just…stay the night, I guess." He murmured taking a very sleepy Sadie to her room.

He sat on the bed with her and she clutched his shirt sleeve, "Can I stay with you?" she asked weakly.

Pepper stood at the doorway, grinning.

Tony chose to ignore her and couldn't resist Sadie's killer eyes, once again, "Fine, but just tonight." He said, getting up and taking her to his room.

He walked by a smirking Pepper, "What?" he growled.

"Nothing." She smiled innocently and went to the other guest room, "Tony, just call if you need me, okay?" she said.

He mock saluted on his way upstairs.

Once Sadie was finally asleep on his bed, he found he was exhausted. To hell with the suit tonight. He collapsed next to her on the bed only to wake up and find a seven year old cuddled up next to him with a hairy mastiff drooling and snoring on the other side.

Tony groaned. Is this what he has been reduced to?

He looked at his clock and read 5:05 am. Normally he found some hot chick smothering him in the morning. And he never felt guilty about taking his leave then. But oh no. Now he had a kid and a dog taking over his bed.

He felt Sadie stir and found his arm curled around her protectively. He had no clue why his arm was doing that. He blamed it on lack of sleep and Sadie's demon eyes.

…..

Tony woke up to the sound of Pepper yelling about something. He had no clue what she was yelling but he was about to tell her to shut up for Sadie's sake until Pepper herself came bursting into his room.

"Pepper…" he groaned.

"Tony, you need to come downstairs now." She said, looking upset.

"What?" he groaned again and then saw Kala sit up and Sadie's eyes open. She was looking shyly at him, still clutching his shirt, curled against him.

"Aw, you woke her up!" he said.

"Tony, please, downstairs…NOW!" Pepper hissed then left.

Tony sighed then got up. Sadie sat up and stretched, "Can I get up too?" she asked.

Tony grinned, "Free country kid." He said.

She took that as a yes then got down.

Tony quickly went downstairs, figuring Kala would get Sadie down his stairs.

What he didn't figure were two figures sitting on his couch with a very upset looking Pepper pacing.

"Mr. Stark!" The male got up and shook his hand. Tony automatically did not like this guy. He was middle aged with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and his blue eyes held a very icy look in them. Tony shook his hand reluctantly. The man grinned a very sly grin.

"I'm Evan Parker." He said, "And this is my wife, Heather."

Tony looked at the woman who was a little on the chunky side, but kept herself well groomed. She had brown hair and green eyes but she too had a deceiving look.

"Hello." She said a little coolly.

"Tony, these people seem to think that Sadie belongs to their family." Pepper said.

Tony thought for a minute. Anna…Anna Parker.

"I'm Anna's younger brother." Evan said, as though reading his mind, "She and I never really got along, but I never thought she'd just keep Sadie from me. Course, you know that feeling all too well, I'm sure."

"I didn't know Anna had a brother. At all." Tony said.

"Like I said, we never really spoke. But instead of hashing out the past, I'd really just like to see my niece." Evan said, getting to the point.

Sadie came down just then. She stared at the visitors with a wary look and Kala suddenly growled low in her throat.

Evan got up quickly going to her "Oh my God! Sadie!"

Sadie backed away and glanced nervously at Tony.

Evan completely ignored her and continued to reach for her, "I'm your uncle, Uncle Evan!" he said.

Kala barked and growled, snapping at him.

"Dog's a little aggressive for her." Evan frowned.

Tony put in the back of his mind to give Kala a giant bone later. He glanced at Pepper who was obviously thinking the same thing.

"Look, is there a reason you are here and doing this?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"We want some custody of her." Heather said.

"Excuse me?" Pepper gasped.

"Look, I feel it's unfair my sister and I never spoke, but I want to do right by her niece. And I know you're a bit of a…well…no offense, but a playboy." Evan said.

For once, Tony took a huge offense to that, "You do realize she has health conditions, right?" he asked.

Heather and Evan gave each other glances, "No." Heather piped in, "But we could give her a loving home with TWO parents."

"Yeah, sorry, but last I heard, two loving parents need money to keep a kid like Sadie even alive" Tony said, "Plus, how do I know this isn't some sham?"

"We really are family, you can look at birth certificates and much more." Evan said, getting angry.

"Sorry, but I'm not releasing my niece until I know for certain she's in a safe place. Until I do a background check, I ask you not come here. If you are indeed family, then of course you can visit." Tony said.

Pepper heaved a sigh of relief.

Heather and Evan however, looked annoyed.

"We will be back, and with good cause to bring her home with us." Evan said with some venom, "Come on Heather."

When they left, Pepper snorted, "Good riddance to bad rubbish, hope we never see them again." She muttered, and then went to get Sadie, who was looking upset on the stairs.

"What if they are family?" Tony suddenly said, "What if they could give her a good home?"

"Tony, don't!" Pepper said.

"We should be thinking about Sadie." Tony said.

"Tony, those people were shady and Kala obviously felt threatened. Think about Sadie and her safety." Pepper said, "This isn't about you."

"I'm saying that if they are okay people, we shouldn't just-"

"Just what?" Pepper yelled, "Tony, are you seriously thinking of giving Sadie up?"

Sadie suddenly sobbed and ran to her room, Kala following.

"Oh, God, Sadie!" Pepper said, sadly, going after her, she glared at Tony, "Now look what you did!"

Tony threw his hands up in defeat and sat at the table.

"Jarvis." He said.

"Yes sir."

"Do a favor. I need family records for both Anna Parker-Stark and Tim Stark. Give me health records, birth certificates, everything."

"Certainly Sir."

"Let me know when it's here."

"Estimated time is 8 hours."

"You know where I'll be."

"Unless you plan to visit Mr. Heffner again, then I assume you'll be in your workshop."

Tony rolled his eyes.

….

_Oh snap it's on! Had to bring in some family drama. Bonus points if you can guess why Evan and Heather Parker seem like such shady characters._

_Also, just a side note. I'm following the basic timeline of the movie, so I won't make as many Pepperony moments until I get to that point in the movie, but I will try to put in a bit more of Pepper/Sadie/Tony cuteness. _


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everybody! Sorry this is a little late. My grandma had back surgery and my family drove up to see her. So as I write, I am actually spending the night in the hospital with her to help her out. And as a result, found time to write some fanfic! Here ya go! Also, this chapter does contain some movie verse.

…

"Hey! I heard someone needed cheering up!" A familiar voice said and Sadie woke up smiling.

She turned and found her new tutor, James, or Jimmy as he made her call him standing there with a bunch of books, paper, and some sugar free candy.

Sadie brightened and Jimmy came over and they shared chocolate on her bed while he talked schooling with her but also, just to listen to her.

When she brought up Tony giving her up, Jimmy froze.

"Okay, let's get something straight. If he doesn't keep you, I will." Jimmy smiled, "But seriously, I don't think he would, okay?"

"First my daddy didn't really like me, now he doesn't want me." Sadie said sadly.

"Well, then, they are both idiot geniuses." Jimmy chuckled, "Trust me, there's more to this than meets the eye. You'll see. Now, let's talk homework."

Later, Tony came up and found James sitting with Sadie at the table doing some vocabulary lessons then he heard them both speaking in French.

"Are you teaching her French?" he asked, clearly amazed.

"No, she already knows it. But I am gonna teach her Chinese." James said, grinning.

Tony raised his eyebrows and shrugged grabbing a coffee. She looked pretty busy. Guess he'd ask for Sadie's help on the flight stimulator later.

A few hours later, Jimmy and Pepper came downstairs laughing at a joke and Tony found it was irritating the crap out of him. She was hanging on to his every masculine word.

"Mr. Stark, I'd like to talk with you about something." He said, getting serious.

"Fine, make it quick, I'm busy."

"Typical." Jimmy murmured to Pepper and she giggled.

"Alright, what?" he said, coming towards them, sizing up Mr. Hot Shot.

"Let's sit down, it's about Sadie." Jimmy said, calmly.

They all sat down and Tony got annoyed when Pepper sat next to Jimmy.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, "Is she too advanced for you?"

Jimmy raised his eyebrows, "No, actually. I was just going to tell you she's a little depressed about you giving her up, or wanting to." Jimmy said, cutting to the chase.

"I never said I wanted to-" Tony interrupted.

"I figured." Jimmy said smiling, "But she needs to know that. As her tutor, I want her smart and happy."

"Well, you obviously know how to make women happy." Tony murmured.

Pepper gaped at Tony and Jimmy just glared.

"At least I don't make them cry."' He shot back.

It was Tony's turn to gape.

Jimmy stared at him, "I used to get flak from guys like you, so don't think I didn't learn a thing or two over the years. But let's get something straight, treat Sadie and Pepper right, or we will have problems." Jimmy said, angrily, then got up and stormed out.

"Well, Tony you are on a roll." Pepper said, getting up.

"Wait," Tony said, taking her arm.

"What?" Pepper asked, looking concerned.

Tony wanted to say the words, but just couldn't, "Is Sadie okay?" he finally settled for.

Pepper sighed, "I think you have some apologizing to do for a couple of others before you ask me that." She said, then walked away, "I'll be upstairs, I'll send Sadie down in a couple hours after her nap."

Tony sighed and rubbed his face. Well, the kid would be easy at least.

"Sir, the records are in." Jarvis said.

"Finally." Tony sighed and took a seat in his Hot Rod. Maybe now he'd get some answers. He scrolled through and listened to Jarvis ramble on about Anna and Tim's history. He was at least up to speed on a few things. His worst fears were confirmed, however, when he found out that the scumbag, Evan Parker, was indeed Anna's brother.

Tony continued to listen and found his stomach turn to knots as he listened to Jarvis.

"Anna and Evan's father was arrested for drug dealership as well as severe child abuse when Anna was only 15 years old. Evan was 17. He tried to get custody of Anna, however, did not succeed."

Tony kept listening. Apparently, Anna chose school to escape, where Evan chose money and work. There wasn't a whole lot on Evan, unfortunately, but it proved without a doubt that they were family.

At least he was the head manager at some computer store business, while Heather was a stay at home. That at least showed that they worked hard and could earn a decent living. Maybe they could give Sadie a home. He pushed the thought away quickly though. He'd at least let the guy visit a couple of times before he made a decision like that.

But another thought made him pause, "Jarvis, why didn't Anna or Tim mention Evan in the will or list him under family?"

"I have no record of the decision, sir."

"Hmm." Tony murmured. There had to be more behind this. Was the situation similar to Tim and himself? Or was it something worse? They could have easily put Evan and Heather as guardians and instead chose Tony. He didn't know what to think.

Getting frustrated, Tony turned to medical records and just skimmed through them, listening to Jarvis ramble.

"Tim was labeled infertile by doctors in 2000, then-"

"Wait, what?" Tony yelled.

He stared in disbelief. Tim couldn't conceive? Those words rang in his head. _Infertile. _Dear God.

He thought back to that night at the party. Anna crying. Did she know Tim couldn't conceive? Was that why…?

NO!

He closed the documents and then decided to work on his suit. He couldn't think about it. Tim and Anna wouldn't do that. And Sadie…was Sadie even theirs?

"Jarvis?" he asked, "Is Sadie biologically Anna's?"

"Yes sir. However, her DNA never matched her fathers."

"Jarvis…when was Sadie born, exactly?"

"May 29, 2001, 7 years ago."

"When were Tim and Anna married?"

"November 17, 2000."

"When was the wedding shower. The one I…"

"August 5, 2000."

Tony didn't need to even do the math. He knew without a doubt.

Sadie might just be his.

…..

Sadie came down an hour later to find her uncle sitting with his head in his hands.

"Uncle Tony?" she asked, meekly.

He shot up and quickly and turned, "Hey." He said.

He looked different, Sadie thought. He looked more worn and tired. Like he just had the life scared from him. And the way he looked at her. Almost like a puzzle and with so many different emotions reflected in his eyes. She didn't know what to think of it.

"Pepper said you wanted to talk to me." She said.

"Yes." He said, more confident and turning towards her. He sighed and rubbed his neck, "This morning. I didn't know those jerks would come by, so…"

Sadie looked down, sadly.

"What I said…I didn't mean." He told her firmly, "I don't want to give you up and I don't plan to. So…how about we just move on and build my flight stabilizers?"

Sadie looked up, grinning knowingly, "You can't do it." She said.

"What?"

"You can't say the words."

"What words?"

"I'm sorry."

Tony was silent for a minute, "I can too."

She shook her head, "When have you ever said sorry?"

He thought back and realized he never really had said he was sorry, unless it was a joke.

"It's okay, my daddy couldn't either."

Tony looked up and if he hadn't understood everything, the word daddy would have made him laugh. Little did she know…

"I forgive you." She said, smiling.

"Okay, then, let's get started." He grinned. God…she looked just like him.

….

"Ow!" Sadie yelled. Tony had told her he'd seen some debris in her hair, but had tugged too hard, pulling out strands.

"Sorry." He said quickly, pocketing the strands quickly before she saw him, "Got it though." He shrugged.

"You said it!" she said.

"Sorry? Yeah. I mean, I say it now and then, but…"

"Not for something really important." She nodded. She was excited to see how his new flight stabilizers would turn out.

"They look really cool. But I think we should make sure they don't-"

"We looked, it should be fine."

"I really think we should check." She said firmly.

He finished connecting the pieces and Pepper came down.

"Pep's coming. You may need to get your medicine." He told her.

"I've been buzzing you." Pepper said, carrying a box and a coffee cup for him. She put it down and came over, "Have you been listening?"

"Yeah, I, what?" he said, absentmindedly.

"Obadiah's upstairs, he wants-"

"Yeah, great, I'll be right up." He said.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons." She said, a little sternly.

"It's a flight stabilizer!" Sadie said, excitedly.

Pepper smiled and held out her hand, "It's also dinner time and medicine time." She said.

"Sir, a Ms. Heller is here." Jarvis said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Oh my God!" Pepper cried, "Child Services, I forgot. SHOW HER IN!" she yelled, "Come on Sadie, we need to go. Tony! Upstairs now!"

"Okay, just let me-"

"NOW! It's not safe."

"Yes it is! He told me it is." Sadie said, "I wanna see!"

"Yep, completely harmless." Tony said, holding up the device and they heard it warming up, then a loud bang and a white light emitted with a resounding crash echoed through the garage, sending Tony flying backwards. Sadie was knocked right into Pepper who had covered her face protectively.

"I wasn't expecting that…" Tony said weakly on the floor.

"Neither was I." Sadie said.

Pepper rolled her eyes and took Sadie upstairs, thankful that Child Services had NOT seen that.

….

Tony came up to see Obadiah playing the piano and Pepper on the computer. Ms. Heller was at the kitchen table talking to Sadie, who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Mr. Stark." Ms. Heller acknowledged with a curt nod.

"Yes." He said, nodding back.

"I'll be speaking with you and your assistant in a moment." She said, sternly. Sadie looked a little upset.

"This'll be great." Tony murmured, then he spotted Obi.

"How'd it go?" then he saw the pizza box, "Oh, it went that good huh?"

"Just cause I brought pizza back from New York-" Obi mumbled.

While Tony, Pepper, and Obi argued about the board of directors meeting. Sadie was dealing with her own issues with Child Services.

"They have informed me that they could give you a good home." Ms. Heller said kindly, "It would feel very similar to your parent's home and they can give you care as well. You won't have to deal with all the press and hectic lifestyle that Mr. Stark's life entails."

Sadie shook her head, "I want to stay here." She said, defiantly.

Ms. Heller sighed, "Do you feel safe here? Are you getting good care?"

"I have Kala, he bought her for me."

"Yes, he bought you a dangerous breed of dog. I noticed." Ms. Heller said curtly nodding at Kala laying at Sadie's feet, "Your other uncle informed me that she almost bit him."

"She was protecting me." Sadie said, angrily.

Ms. Heller sighed again and then noticed that Mr. Stane had left.

"Mr. Stark? If you and Miss Potts are ready…"

"Yep." Tony said, a little annoyed after his argument with Obi.

They all sat at the table and Tony was already angry that the woman was making Sadie cry.

"Alright, what's this about?" he asked, angrily.

"Mr. Stark, you are aware that a Mr. and Mrs. Parker have offered to step up and give Sadie a home?"

"Those jerks?" Pepper exclaimed.

Ms. Heller narrowed her eyes, "They are family and it is documented that they are. However, I am concerned that you bought a very dangerous dog for Sadie as well as sent her to the emergency room already."

"She's a sick kid. It's going to happen. And Kala is a therapy dog, certified and all." Pepper said.

Tony didn't know what to think at this point. He was afraid to even speak. All he could do was stare at his potential daughter. Until Jarvis came back with the DNA comparison, he couldn't say anything.

"I see, well, we need to think about Sadie's best interests." Ms. Heller said, "She has told me she wants to stay here, but I would like to have another interview and a visitation with her other family to see how things go." She declared standing up.

"That would be lovely." Pepper said smartly.

"I'll be in touch." Ms. Heller said, leaving.

Tony sighed. Sadie looked sad, but he smiled at her, "We'll show her." He said.

"You won't give me up?" she asked.

"Not if you don't want me to." He said, "I'll let you choose, but let's just make sure we do make the right choice."

Sadie was satisfied with that answer and then got up to go to bed.

…

Sadie was so happy as the week went by. Tony had successfully made his suit fly and was close to adding finishing touches. He promised her she could stay up late to watch his first take off, only she had to study first with Jimmy.

Jimmy noticed her change and couldn't have been happier. He hoped this meant things were looking up for her. He started noticing how tired she was however and decided to give her a break and let her sleep. He was enjoying a sandwich in the kitchen that Pepper had made for everyone when Tony came up.

"I don't pay you to eat my food." Tony said, jokingly.

"I don't get paid to listen to crap." He shot back.

They gave each other a death stare and then laughed a little. Tony sat down, grabbing some food.

"How's Sadie doing in her work?" Tony asked him.

"She's doing wonderful. I may up her a grade if she keeps this up."

"Yeah?"

"Yep."

"So…" Tony started, "You and Pepper are getting close." He mumbled.

"Miss Potts? She's awesome." Jimmy nodded, "Though I strongly suggest you put a ring on it before some other guy does." He grinned.

Tony stared in shock, "You wouldn't!"

"No, I wouldn't…I'm taken." Jimmy blushed, smiling like a school girl. Tony couldn't help but relax a little.

"So…what's her name? Is she hot?" Tony asked, feeling like he and Jimmy would get along just fine now.

"His name is Lance."

"Sounds pretty aweso…wait! LANCE? As in..."

Jimmy nodded.

Tony stared in shock, "You-you're-"

"As the Fourth of July." Jimmy said, grinning.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Pepper knew. And it's not something you tell your potential boss until you know them better."

"But we don't know each other."

"Sadie and Pepper tell me all about you. I know more about you than you do, I think."

Tony sat back in shock. Jimmy laughed at him, "I get that a lot."

Tony didn't know what to say.

"You know, Sadie really cares about you. And if it comes down to it, I'll help you fight for her."

Tony nodded, "Well, you are officially my new favorite person."

…..

Sadie watched as her uncle got into his silver suit the Mark II. She was so excited to see him take off.

Kala, however, was hovering like a mother hen.

"Okay, Jarvis and Sadie will be on the line with me." Tony confirmed and grinned at Sadie as he put the mask on, "How do I look?" he asked her.

"Like a Transformer." She giggled.

"Ha ha." He chuckled.

"I have indeed been uploaded, sir." Jarvis said, "We're online and ready."

"Can we start the virtual walk-around?" Tony asked.

"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."

"Do a check on control surfaces."

Sadie listened and watched in awe as Tony's suit was doing a check. She couldn't have been more excited to see how the suit worked.

"Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."

"Aww." Sadie said sadly, "I wanted to see it fly!" she pouted.

Tony couldn't have agreed more, "Yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check and start listening in on ground control."

"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is..."

"Jarvis!" Tony said, "Sometimes you got to run before you can walk."

He gave a thumbs up to Sadie, "Ready? In three, two, one."

Sadie squealed as Tony took off.

"Can you see me?" he asked. She looked on the computer, "Yeah, you look awesome! Wish I were with you!"

"Maybe someday, whoo! This baby dandles like a dream."

Tony flew around and Sadie watched from the computer screen.

"Kala, this is so cool!" she smiled.

"All right, let's see what this thing can do." Tony said as he flew straight up into the night sky, "What's SR-71's record?"

"The altitude record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir." Jarvis said.

"Uncle Tony, that's too high!" Sadie said, getting nervous.

"Records are made to be broken!" He said, "Come on!"

"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring."

"Uncle Tony stop!" Sadie cried.

"Keep going! Higher!"

Sadie's heart fell when the worst was confirmed and she couldn't hear her uncle anymore.

"What happened! Tony?" she cried, "TONY!"

"YEAHHHHAHAHAH!" she heard him yell and was relieved. She slumped back into her seat and a few minutes later heard him.

"Kill power."

All of a sudden there was a huge bang and crash as her uncle fell through the ceiling. Kala dragged Sadie for cover and both found shelter under a desk. Sadie stared, open mouthed as she watched her uncle get doused by Dummy.

She walked cautiously towards the wreckage.

"Bed time." He said, straining his voice painfully.

….

Sadie was sitting in Tony's lap as they listened to Jarvis's notes.

"Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic." Tony said.

"I think ice is the problem." Sadie noted.

"A very astute observation, miss." Jarvis said proudly.

"Sir, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystems."

"Connect to the sys. co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite."

"What will that do?" Sadie asked.

"That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio." Tony explained. Sadie thought about it, then nodded, yawning.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked her.

"I got my PJ's on." She said, smiling, "That doesn't mean it's time for bed."

"Sir, shall I render using proposed specifications?" Jarvis asked.

"Thrill me." Tony mumbled. Just then, both heard the TV.

"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."

"Jarvis, we get an invite for that?" Tony asked.

"I have no record of an invitation, sir."

"Where Tony Stark hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Other sources say he's preparing for fatherhood as the news of his recent fostering of his niece Sadie Stark has become a buzz. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight."

"The render is complete." Jarvis said. Sadie made a disgusting face as she saw the gold suit on the screen.

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony asked.

"What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet." Jarvis shot back. Sadie grinned.

"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile. The render is complete."

"If you put purple in in, you'd be Optimus Prime!" Sadie giggled.

"Hey, I like it." Tony argued, tickling her, "Jarvis, fabricate it. Paint it."

"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."

"Don't wait up for me, honey." Tony said, picking up a very sleepy Sadie.

"Alright, I'm going to that event, I'll be back later." He said, taking her to her room.

"I thought Jarvis said you weren't invited." Sadie said, rubbing her eyes.

"It's my event, I can go whether I want to or not." Tony defended.

Sadie grinned.

"Jarvis will keep you company. I won't be long." He promised.

She nodded and let him tuck her in.

…..

Tony came back feeling terrible. How could Obi betray him like that? He drove quickly back home. He'd been asked by dozens how his niece was doing, if he was adopting her, and if she indeed had a babysitter. Course, the answers were she was fine, maybe, and of course…only he didn't specify it was a computer watching her. He pulled in and shed his Red Carpet clothes, going towards his room. He checked on Sadie and found she was sleeping peacefully with Kala laying on the floor next to the bed.

He finally decided to see what the news was saying about Guilmira.

"Sir, I have the DNA results in." Jarvis said as Tony started working on his suit. Did he want to know? Did he need to know?

"Shoot." He said, bracing himself.

"It is confirmed, Miss Stark is indeed your biological daughter." Jarvis said and Tony's worst fears were indeed laid before him. He sat back. Why he chose to shock himself into oblivion a million times in one night was beyond him.

He watched in horror the events unfolding on screen. He thought about Yinsen, about Tim, about Anna, about Pepper, and Sadie…His daughter. He saw a picture of a young girl Sadie's age, crying.

The image of Sadie crying made him suddenly very angry. He was so mad all of a sudden. Why the hell did they never tell him? Why would they do such a thing? And why did he betray his brother? Was he really so selfish that he really was turning into a monster?

He had no idea what he was doing until he saw the broken glass as a result of his rage. Suddenly, he was satisfied. Time to go to work.

….

Sadie came down and found her uncle arguing with Pepper about something. She could hear Tony pleading with Pepper to do something for him involving his company. She could hear Pepper arguing about Tony hurting himself or getting himself killed. Sadie stopped and listened staying out of sight.

"Tony, at least think about Sadie. She needs you."

"Don't think I don't know that." Tony argued.

"Tony, please, she loves you." Pepper said, "She doesn't need to lose any more family."

Tony was silent.

"Tony, I know you care about your niece and you have to prove that you deserve to keep her."

"Oh I can prove it." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." He said.

"Tony, what is it?"

"Let it go."

"No, tell me."

Sadie listened.

"Tony…what?" Pepper pleaded.

"Seven years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I drove my brother away." Tony yelled.

Sadie heard Pepper sit down.

"I was drunk. She…Anna…was drunk." He cried, sounding agitated.

"Sadie's mom? Tony, that's normal."

"It was her wedding shower and what happened as a result was not normal." He said.

"Tony…what did you do?"

"We…and Tim saw….Look, bottom line is, Sadie's my kid."

It was dead silent for a while.

"Tony…are you saying you and Sadie's mom…?"

"Yeah, Tim couldn't have kids, and I did a test. Sadie's my daughter."

Sadie stumbled back, her breathing rapid. Tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered her father never looking at her with real love. All those times trying to make her different from Tony, when in reality…she was Tony. She was his daughter.

She felt light headed. Everything became a blur and all she could hear was Kala's faint barking in the background.

…

"Sadie? Sadie!" Pepper cried, shaking Sadie.

Tony ran to grab her medicine.

He came back and Pepper was holding her, "Tony what's wrong?" she cried.

Tony shook his head and ended up dropping all of her medicine on the floor and screamed in frustration.

"Jarvis, call an ambulance. NOW!"

"It's gonna be okay, Tony." Pepper said, mainly to herself than to him. But he felt comforted, none the less.

…

Next chapter is coming up! And my grandmother is doing well.


	8. Chapter 8

Last chapter of part one! Hope you enjoy! This chapter also contains movie verse. Though I am attempting once this is over to stay as far from it as possible, but no promises. Thanks and enjoy!

…..

Tony paced the hospital floor. He rubbed his eyes, not sure what to do. He felt so utterly helpless. What made it worse was the knowledge that it was no longer just his niece in there, but his daughter. So many emotions crossed his mind and he didn't know how to keep some of it in and he couldn't bear the thought of his friends seeing him in this state, especially Pepper.

"Pepper, I need you to go."

"No Tony." Pepper said.

"No, really, just go. It'll be fine."

"Tony…" Pepper started.

"Pepper, the best thing you can do for me right now is by going to my office and do what I asked of you earlier." He said.

"Tony, please you have no idea the stress I am under."

He smiled, "I know, but I really need you to do this."

She sighed, "Tony, can't it wait?"

"No."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."

"Pepper, you stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out? I'm doing this for Sadie!"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. Sadie needs you. I…need you." Pepper pleaded, "I'm not going to be a part of it."

"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. Sadie was put into my life for a reason at this time. I'm going to stop this. And then I'm going to do everything in my power to protect and save my daughter. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

Pepper sighed, "Just try to stay in one piece with Sadie till I get back home?"

"Absolutely." He smiled, and then watched her leave.

She sighed, looking in her bag at the flash drive he had given her earlier.

"I'll call you." He said.

"You know you and Sadie are all I have too." She said before she left.

Tony nodded, and then sat down, feeling so drained.

"Mr. Stark?" Dr. Hill came over, looking worn and tired.

"What happened?" Tony asked him, standing up.

"I'm not sure, but it seems something really got her heart going way too fast for her to handle. It messed with her breathing and caused her to pass out."

"Will she be okay?" he asked.

"She can go home today; she's up and lucid now. There's no reason for her to stay. Just take it easy."

"Can I see her?"

"Sure, follow me."

When he got to Sadie's room, she was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. She was paler than usual and Tony couldn't help but notice she'd been crying.

He sat down and waited for the doctor and nurses to leave.

"You wanna tell me about it?" he asked.

She glared at him and then went back to staring at the ceiling.

"Oh, it's me isn't it?" he smiled.

She nodded and then glared at him again, "It's not funny."

"You're look of death is."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"I hate you!"

"Why?"

"You lied to me! You all did!"

"When have I ever lied to you?" he asked.

"You and my mommy. You're my daddy. And you never told me!" she cried.

Tony stared in disbelief and he groaned, "When did you hear that?"

"You and Pepper were arguing and I heard everything." She said tearfully.

"That wasn't…you weren't supposed to hear that." He moaned, putting his head in his hand.

"Well I did and it explains why mommy and daddy hated me." She sobbed. She sat up, her heart rate spiking on the machine, "They hated me so much they didn't want me to go to a physics camp! They never let me see you or talk about you! Daddy never even kissed me!"

Tony was heartbroken. He knew it was his entire fault but he just didn't know what else to say or do.

"Why would they lie?" she cried.

"Because we were all stupid. I never should have betrayed my brother. They never should have lied to you." He said, sadly, "I never knew until now either. Hate to break it to you kid, but we both have been had."

She looked sadly at him, "Would you have wanted me?"

He shrugged, "I might not have then, but I do now."

"What do we do?"

He laid his hand gently on hers, careful not to mess with her IV, "We go home and start over. That's what I did after…"

She finally smiled at him, "I think I can do that."

…

Tony heard his phone ring and was wondering why Jarvis was acting up. He had just put Sadie down and he was afraid the phone ringing would wake her up. Kala came out growling and barking. Tony had no clue why so he dragged her outside against her will. He couldn't risk Kala being a nut case for a minute to wake Sadie up.

He quickly answered the phone, knowing it was Pepper until he felt a sudden sense of numbness. He stopped breathing and panicked. He couldn't move!

He heard Obi speaking softly to him and for a moment was stunned.

He barely heard what Obi said, but what hit him was what he said next.

"When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give."

Tony was scared suddenly. This man was dangerous, in his house. He was defenseless and Sadie was in the other room just as helpless.

He tried to look around, anything to get his muscles moving. Obi got a contraption out to take out his chest piece when Tony saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He tried to look closer and saw Sadie crouching behind the counter, looking terrified.

She backed up and ended up knocking over something making a loud noise. She ducked before Obi saw her.

"Is that you little Sadie? Come on out, it's just old Uncle Obi!" Obi called ruthlessly.

Tony wished to God he could move. But instead all he was capable of doing was watch Obi stalk towards Sadie, like it was a game.

…..

Sadie was scared, but not for herself, for her Uncle…Dad. She carefully scooted around, careful not to be seen by Obi. She was finally in full view for Tony and she looked around trying to find something to get Obi away from her so she could help Tony. She saw a cup that had rolled towards her; she took it and threw it towards her bedroom. Obi followed the noise and she was relieved. But she knew she only had seconds. She ran to Tony and looked helplessly at the contraption that was going to take out his chest piece and tried to dislodge it carefully. She heard Kala growling and barking outside. Maybe Kala could help.

Tony's eyes widened but it was too late and she was grabbed from behind. She screamed and kicked at Obi, who had covered her face with a cloth doused in chloroform. Sadie struggled but the next thing she knew, she was seeing black.

"Shame, really. What to do with a little brat?" Obi said putting her down on the sofa next to Tony.

"I'd leave her here but she'd just help you out. And I'd let her walk, but she's seen too much and she could foil my plans to take over the company. Looks like I'm left with putting her out of her misery." Obi joked as he continued to take Tony's chest piece out.

"You just had to involve everyone, eh Tony? Oh well, she was going to die anyway." He said as he pulled the chest piece from Tony. Tony jerked in response and could already feel his heart having trouble. Now he knew how Sadie felt.

He watched Obi pick up the case with the piece in it then take Sadie with him. Tony wanted to yell, to scream, but he couldn't do ANYTHING.

Pepper was in danger. Sadie was in danger. Hell, he was in danger. God, he had to do something and fast.

…

Sadie woke up groggy and cold. She realized her hands were bound behind her back and she was gagged. She was leaning against a stone wall and it was very dark and musty. She looked around, terrified.

Her uncle! No, her dad! He was in trouble. Shoot, she was in trouble. She turned and saw Obi working on a suit similar to Tony's.

She struggled against her bonds and found Obi suddenly standing above her. He leaned down to her level.

"Well, well. You have caused me an unnecessary amount of work load I can't afford right now. What to do with you." He said.

She glared at him.

"You know I ordered a hit on your parents too. Only problem? Somebody got them before I did. I'll have to thank the son of a bitch later." He laughed.

Sadie's eyes widened in terror. Her parents were murdered? She thought it was an accident. Then who…?

Obi sighed, "Well, how we gonna do this? Should I just put you down like a sick dog, use you in case my plan goes haywire? So many choices."

Sadie was still reeling from what she'd just heard.

"You're right, I'll just kill you now." He said, getting up to get his gun. He came back and Sadie was panting. He held the gun to her neck and took out her gag.

"Any last words?" he asked.

She panted, closing her eyes, crying.

They both heard a loud bang and he got up, "Damnit." He muttered and ran to his suit, tossing his gun.

Sadie continued to pant, struggling to get out. Then she heard footsteps coming towards her.

Oh God, he was back to finish the job and Sadie found herself crying.

"SADIE!" Pepper cried and Sadie had never been happier in her life.

"Sadie?" Pepper cried, coming towards her, "Oh my God! Sadie!" she quickly let Sadie free, who hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay." Pepper whispered picking her up.

"Pepper! He's here!" Sadie cried.

"Shh…we'll find him." Pepper said, taking her towards the agents who helped her get there.

"Miss Stark, is he here?" A fit and balding agent asked. He looked like the leader.

Sadie nodded, terrified.

"Where did he go? Did you see?" he asked.

"No…" Sadie sobbed, "But he has a suit like Uncle Tony's."

He nodded, then smiled warmly at her, "We'll find him."

"Where's Uncle Tony! Is he okay?" Sadie cried.

"Shh. Let's get you out of here." Pepper said calmly, though deep down, she was just as terrified.

She carried Sadie past some chains hanging on a wall and they both heard something.

"Pepper…" Sadie whispered in fear.

Pepper held her tightly and carefully walked towards the noise.

Sadie screamed when she saw the two lights for eyes shining and a massive machine come towards them.

Pepper ran, holding on to Sadie for dear life, not looking behind her. Sadie buried her head into Pepper's neck, too afraid to look back.

They made it out just in time. Pepper put Sadie down, who clung to her skirt.

"Tony?" Pepper said.

Sadie looked up, "Is he okay?"

"He's okay, he's fine! Oh God, Tony, Obadiah's insane, he's-"

Sadie and Pepper turned as they both heard the crunching sound behind them.

Pepper put herself in front of Sadie, shielding her.

"Where do you think you're going?" the massive iron suit growled.

Pepper yelled and kept a hold on Sadie to push her out of the way when he fired.

"You're services are no longer required." He said, holding out his arm, ready to fire.

"HEY!"

Everyone turned and Sadie was relieved to see Tony, alive and flying to save the day.

"Pepper get Sadie out of here and hide!" Tony yelled.

Pepper grabbed Sadie and ran to hide, no arguments there.

Sadie could hear so many car horns and crashes, a lot of noises but the worst was not being able to see Tony.

"Pepper, is he okay?" she cried.

"I...don't know." Pepper said, trying to calm her down.

"Look!" Sadie cried out and pointed as she and Pepper saw 2 lights going up into the sky.

"It's Tony!"

They watched until they couldn't see anything anymore.

Sadie continued to look up, hopeful.

"Potts." Tony said into her Bluetooth.

"Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?"

"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. Is Sadie alright?"

"Yes, she's fine, just scared." Pepper said.

"Hang on, I'll be right there."

They all heard a crash and Sadie had a feeling Tony wasn't alone up there again.

"Potts?"

"TONY!" Pepper called.

"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"Well, how are you going to do that?" Pepper said, flustered.

"You're going to do it. Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof,

I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here. Just keep Sadie safe, whatever you do, keep her out of there."

"Okay. I'm going in now." Pepper said, then looked sternly at Sadie, "STAY HERE!" she ordered. Sadie nodded and waited, watching as Pepper went to do what Tony told her to do.

"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time." Tony said, and then went back to work annoying Obi.

"It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof!" Pepper called.

"Pepper! Time to hit the button!" Tony called. Sadie heard him and knew he was on the roof. She walked towards the doors.

"You told me not to!" she yelled. Sadie slapped her forehead, God these two adults didn't know how to follow simple instructions or stop arguing. She ran inside. She knew what had to be done.

"Just do it!" Tony yelled.

Sadie ran in as she heard Pepper say, "You'll die!"

"Push it!" he yelled.

Sadie ran and hit the button before Pepper could do anything.

"Oh my God! Sadie!" Pepper yelled, grabbing her and running out the door.

It was deathly quiet after the explosion.

Tony was out cold. He was sure he was dead, but for some reason he kept hearing Pepper calling his name and then a smaller voice yelling something different, something that jump started his heart a little.

"DADDY!"

…

"Why are they calling you Iron Man? Your suits not even iron!" Sadie giggled.

"I don't know, it's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it." Tony said reading the paper. He was getting cleaned up by Pepper and was dressed and ready for a press conference. Sadie was told to wear one of her nice dresses today for some reason, though she had no clue why.

"It's not accurate at all! The suit's a gold-titanium alloy." Sadie put in.

"But it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway." Tony argued.

Pepper rolled her eyes at the two.

Agent Coulson came in just then. Sadie had officially met him hours earlier and liked him immediately.

"Here's your alibi." He said handing Tony some notecards, "You were on your yacht. We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night and sworn statements from 50 of your guests."

"See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island."

"She was babysitting your niece." Coulson said, "That's what happened."

Tony shrugged, "All right"

"Just read it, word for word." Coulson said sharply.

"There's nothing about Stane here." Tony suddenly noticed and he saw Sadie's eyes darken a little. She had told them about his attempted hit on her parents and now Agent Coulson was personally looking into their possible murders.

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircrafts have such a poor safety record." Coulson said.

"But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my... I mean, is that...That's kind of flimsy, don't you think?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds. Just enough time." He nodded, grinning at Sadie then handed Pepper an envelope.

"Agent Coulson?" Pepper said, "I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us." He smiled.

"From the Strategic Homeland..."

"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D." he said then left.

"Okay." Pepper smiled then handed Tony the envelope. He sat down and tapped it on his knee.

He took a breath, "So…I was able to pull some strings and get some business done in the past few hours so…" He held out the envelope for her, looking grim, "Read it and weep."

Sadie took it tentatively. She opened it and found a document inside. She quickly scanned it and nearly passed out. She gaped open-mouthed at him, not sure if she was reading right.

He grinned, "Did I say weep? I meant weep for joy."

"I'm your daughter now?"

"You always were, if you want to get technical." He shrugged.

"We are telling people he just formally adopted you to avoid a bad story. So you can still call him your father but they'll just think it's by adoption. Only the important people know the real story." Pepper explained.

Sadie could care less. This document was proof enough! Tony Stark was her father and she was his daughter! She felt a weight lifted from her and such a joy that she couldn't contain her excitement as she barreled into him giving him the fiercest hug.

"Okay! Nice to know you're okay with it." He chuckled, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"We're gonna go make the announcement now and you're going to be there!" Pepper said, happily, "So you two get your butts on a roll!"

Sadie got up and bounced towards the door, "Come on Kala!" she said happily and the dog was as ever eager to please.

"You know, it's actually not that bad." Tony said as Pepper helped him with his jacket, "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man."

"You're not Iron Man."

"Am so."

"You're not."

"All right, suit yourself, but you know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. And a kid with a boat load of issues and they'd both be a wreck 'cause they'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become. My girlfriend would be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me." He rambled then turned to make sure Sadie was gone, "Tell me you never think about that night."

"What night?"

"You know."

"Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself?" she smirked, "Is that the night you're talking about?"

He looked awkward and both heard some giggling by the door. Sadie was laughing at them, Kala of course hovering.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper laughed.

"Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts." He said and glared at Sadie, who continued to laugh at his failure.

…..

"Okay, first I have some great news. I have officially adopted my niece as my daughter, so everyone please welcome the newest member of my family, Miss Sadie Ophelia Stark." Tony said happily, holding up a smiling Sadie who waved and gave him a hug.

"How did you know my middle name?" she asked suddenly so no one could hear.

"Pepper told me and I rehearsed it. Your mom had the worst sense of humor when she named you."

Sadie rolled her eyes, "I think it was a cry for help."

Tony chuckled and put her down. Sadie stood next to Rhodey and watched as her father. Yes, her father, continued to make a complete fool of himself. But despite it all, she was so proud of him and so happy he was hers. A snarky reporter lady spoke up and Sadie wanted to throw Kala's dog poop at her, but decided to just focus on getting her dad to stop rambling and read the stupid cards.

Both she and Rhodey stepped forward and whispered at the same time, "JUST READ THE CARDS!"

"Right." Tony said. Sadie gave him a thumbs up.

"The truth is…" he said. He looked at Sadie then back and Sadie knew what was coming. She would have yelled if her brain wasn't in shock mode.

"I am Iron Man." He said.

Sadie groaned. So it begins.

End of Part 1

…..

Okay everyone! Hope you liked it. I am making a part 2 now as we speak. I'm going to call it "Fix Me If You Dare" and it should be out within the week. I am basing it off Iron Man 2.

Sorry about the movie verse. I try to stay away from it, but I won't lie the movie was amazing and I hate taking away certain parts that were very enjoyable to watch.

Anywho, thanks for all the reviews, I am so glad you enjoyed this story and look forward to bringing you more. See ya!


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